


Friends of Fond Memories

by TheHood13



Series: Love of Yesterday Series [2]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:48:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 26,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25675384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheHood13/pseuds/TheHood13
Summary: Two months after their fight with the Dominators, Kara reaches out to Oliver for help with training Mon-El. Both of them get more than they bargain for, as unexpected events unravel on Earth-38, causing their friendship to strengthen in ways they never expected. [Part 2 of the Love of Yesterday Series]
Relationships: Alex Danvers & Kara Danvers, Alex Danvers & Oliver Queen, Alex Danvers/Maggie Sawyer, Kara Danvers & Oliver Queen, Kara Danvers/Mon-El, Mon-El (Supergirl TV 2015) & Oliver Queen
Series: Love of Yesterday Series [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1856701
Comments: 6
Kudos: 40





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is the sequel to 'Invasion: Love of Yesterday'. If you haven't read it yet, please go check it out before you read this story. This story is going to be a very important one for Oliver and Kara's friendship. I hope you all enjoy it! Cheers to another adventure!

Oliver Queen stood by the window in his office in City Hall, overlooking the city he had called home for all 30 years of his life. He contemplated all that he had done, and was still doing to try save the city. Sometimes, when he arrived at his office in the early hours of the morning to review hundreds of documents piled on his desk, he wondered why the hell was he doing this, but he always remembered quickly. Being The Arrow, or the Green Arrow wasn't enough anymore. He had to be someone else. Sometimes, the city needed the mayor more than the Green Arrow.

Without the help of Quentin, and even Thea, he probably would have rescinded his position as mayor very quickly. He had never cared for politics once his entire life. He'd voted in a couple of elections before being stranded on Lian Yu, but to him, the outcome didn't matter anyway. Up until him endorsing his mother for mayor during the 2014 elections, the greatest extent to which he had been involved in politics was his involvement with the Bratva and Constantine Kovar. That said a lot about his ability to control and keep an entire city in order from an office. Luckily, Quentin had been involved with City Council for years, and had truly been a tremendous aid in helping Oliver manage his two lives.

He walked over to his desk and sat down on his chair, letting a deep breath out. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, Prometheus was truly inside his head now. The fact that Prometheus knew about The List was concerning enough, but he had now brought Laurel into this. Sure, she's a doppelganger, but that didn't make it better at all. This was the second time in just over a month that a doppelganger of someone he loved who had died had showed up. It was subconsciously taking a mental toll on him. Constantly being reminded of his failures to protect the people he loved was starting to add weight to his guilt.

He ignored all of the files scattered on his desk, looking towards the picture frame on his left. He studied every inch of the photo. Himself, Tommy, Laurel and Kara, all at the Starling City Park. Laurel and Kara both piggybacking on Tommy and Oliver respectively, all four of them laughing and smiling in the picture. With everything that's happened now, Oliver could look back on that photo and think of it as simpler times. His crusade seemed, not easier, but more straightforward. He could take down everybody on The List, and then he'd be done. No Slade Wilson, no League of Assassins or metahumans and aliens to worry about. Only three people knew his secret at the time that photo was taken, and now? Too many for Oliver to count. A moment of realisation hit Oliver while he was studying the photo: He was the only one still alive. Everyone else in that photo had left this world.

Before he could dwell any deeper into his guilt, the door to his office opened, interrupting his thought-stream.

"Mr Queen?" The door opened slightly and his secretary, Cass, popped her head through, "You have a visitor."

"I don't recall seeing anybody on my schedule for this time" replied Oliver.

"Yes, she didn't make an appointment, but she says that she is a friend and that you will gladly see her. A Ms Danvers"

"Danvers?" Oliver's eyes and eyebrows flared up at the surprise of hearing her name, "Kara Danvers?"

"Yes."

"Uhh, yeah, yeah, let her through" said Oliver, slightly confused, but pleased nonetheless. He was hopeful that she was seeing him for an issue that didn't require him to save the world once again. Then again, she probably would have called Barry to help her with that, and judging by the fact that Barry hadn't sped into his office, he deduced that this issue wasn't one that was world-ending. He waited for no more than 3 seconds before Kara Danvers of Earth-38 stepped through the office door. She was wearing a long-sleeve floral shirt and a black knee-length skirt with her hair tied in a ponytail.

"Hi Oliver" she said warmly.

"Kara" replied Oliver as he stood up to greet her, "It's good to see you again" he said as he offered a hand to Kara. She was about to hug him, but the extension of his hand served a reminder to what she already knew… Oliver Queen was not much of a hugger. Although, she was sure he'd get there someday… Hopefully. She shook his hand before he spoke up once again.

"Now, what could have possibly gone wrong that Supergirl needs my help?" he joked.

"Oh no, nothing has gone wrong. Well, not yet at least." That last statement by Kara made Oliver raise his eyebrow in unsureness.

"So, what can I help you with?" asked Oliver.

"Well, it's a long story. Actually, not that long, but I need time to explain everything. Do you have time?"

"Yeah, my schedule is clear for the next hour."

"Ok, so, why don't we talk about it over lunch? I'm really starving."

Oliver's first instinct was to reject her offer for lunch. Not because he wouldn't mind going out with her, but she had a dead doppelganger on this Earth and if the paparazzi caught him having lunch with her or if somebody recognised her, the results could be disastrous. Although, he realised that it had been nearly 4 years since the passing of her counterpart, and any paparazzi in the vicinity could be dealt with by his security detail. Plus, he really needed to get out of his office. He'd been in there for the past 5 hours.

"Ok, sure" said Oliver.

"Great. Oh, do you by any chance have Big Belly Burger on this Earth?" she asked curiously.

Oliver stared at her for a second, before replying with nothing more than a wide smile as he headed towards the door.

* * *

Before he and Kara got off the car, Oliver asked his driver and bodyguard to sweep the area inside and around Big Belly Burger to make sure there were no paparazzi around. Earth-1 Kara didn't wear glasses like Earth-38 Kara, so he was confident she probably wouldn't be recognised. Oliver still being pictured with a young woman was sure to get the tabloids talking. Besides, the paparazzi rarely ever lurked in the Glades, but he had to be sure. After the area was secure, they entered Big Belly Burger. Oliver was naturally greeted by several people in the joint, all recognising him as the Mayor. He and Kara picked the seats near a window that looked out into a small alleyway, seats far enough away from anyone else to prevent any eavesdropping. It didn't take them long to decide what to order.

"I will have a Belly Buster combo" said Oliver to the waitress.

"I will have a Cheesemeister Deluxe and a large portion of Chilli Cheese Fries with jalapenos" said Kara.

"Will that be all?" asked the waitress, with both Kara and Oliver nodding, "You'll have your food shortly, Mr Mayor" said the waitress before she walked off. Oliver instinctively studied Kara's entire demeanour. She was nervous, as one would expect. He thought that she was perhaps still a bit intimidated even though she was way more powerful than him. She was definitely shy.

"You know, Diggle once told me that chilli cheese fries and jalapenos is a cry for help. So tell me, what do you need help with?" said Oliver.

"There's this guy on my Earth, his name is Mon-El. He's from Daxam, a neighbouring planet to mine, Krypton. Last year, his pod crashed in National City. He's a good guy at heart, even though he has trouble showing that. It's taken him some time, but he's decided to at least try to become a hero. I've started training him but it's not entirely my specialty. I'd like for you, if possible, to come to my Earth for a while and help train him."

"What powers does he have?"

"He's quite strong and fast, but not as much as me. He doesn't have heat vision, and he can't fly, but he's pretty much…"

"Pretty much a slightly less effective version of you" said Oliver bluntly.

"Well, I guess you could put it that way."

"Kara, if he has those attributes, then why do you need me to train him?"

"I've personally seen what a good job you did with Barry, and he has superspeed. Also, it's not just about the physical training. He is a… hothead, to say the least. He's a bit stubborn. I can help him with controlling his powers, since you probably don't have any experience with that…" Oliver cheekily raised his eyebrows and smirked, causing Kara's eyes to flare open out of surprise and curiosity.

"My sister's boyfriend got injected with a serum once that made him extremely strong with an uncontrollable rage. I helped him the best that I could."

"How is he now?"

"He's all cured."

"Oh, that's good to hear. Well, you can help in any way that you can. If you are coming, of course."

"Well, I said that I'd be there for you if you ever needed my help. I do intend on keeping that promise, but of course with my duties as Mayor, I'm going to have to sort some things out before I agree to do anything."

"Yeah, sure, of course. You're not obligated to help me, you know, if you have other commitments or…"

"Kara… I _am_ obligated to help my friends. I'm sure I will be able to help you."

"Thanks. There's actually two guys that need training, but Mon-El is the only one that's willing to accept help."

A couple of minutes later, their food arrived. Oliver could eat big, despite having basically trained himself to go without food for days when he was on the island. However, he was still shocked at how Kara dug into her burger and fries. She didn't eat like a savage, she was still very eloquent, but she could for sure eat anybody under the table. Perks of Kryptonian physiology. He assumed that she probably didn't need food as much as a regular human, or even at all, which made how much she ate even more impressive to him.

"So, while we're here, why don't you tell me more about yourself?" said Oliver. He was curious to get to know Kara. On the surface, she had the same values and personality as her Earth-1 counterpart, but she came from an entirely different background and as a person, was shaped by totally different experiences. She had already told him about Krypton and her family on Earth, but there were still some things that he'd like to know.

"What do you want to know?" she asked

"The S on your chest. Ironically, something tells me that it doesn't stand for Supergirl?"

"You're right. It's the emblem for The House of El, our family crest."

"Your family?"

"It's only my cousin Clark and I left now, unfortunately."

"Sorry to hear that."

"No, no it's fine. I have an Earth family, you know."

"Yeah, I heard at the hanger. Alex, your sister right?"

"Yeah, she's my older sister. My Earth birthday is actually coming up pretty soon."

"Oh, that's great. You spending it with Alex, or perhaps someone else?"

"Hmm?"

"You know, a significant other", Oliver thought he might be probing too personal with this question, but he'd already deciphered that this Mon-El guy was something more than someone Kara simply needed help training. He was just intrigued to see how she answered this question. After what happened with Laurel, Oliver totally rejected the idea of a partner until he was done with his crusade. Kara clearly would not do such.

"No, not at all" she replied, with a hint of uncertainty in her voice, "Well… there is this one guy. It's complicated. We come from such different places and backgrounds that I really don't think we're compatible."

"Are you saying that to convince me, or to convince yourself?" Kara simply stared wide-eyed back at Oliver. His ability to dissect a person was almost a superpower on its own. That, or she was just terrible at lying. Oliver picked up on her reaction almost immediately, and thought that maybe he had crossed the line.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I crossed the line" he apologised, but she was quick to let him know that she wasn't offended.

"No, it's ok. It's just… He and I kissed, but he was not entirely sober in the moment…"

"He was drunk?"

"You could say that. When he came to, he pretended to have no recollection of what happened because he also thinks we're not compatible. So, yeah, definitely in a weird spot at the moment."

"Well, I have always had trouble when it came to balancing my… 'work' life and personal life, but from what I can tell, you seem to be good at that. So… go for it."

"Oliver Queen is a love doctor now?" joked Kara.

"No…" replied Oliver sternly, "I've just made a lot of mistakes in my life, and I try my best to make sure others don't make those same mistakes."

"That's what friends are for right?" said Kara jovially, with Oliver replying with a nod. He glanced at his watch and realised that their time was nearly up. He paid the bill and they headed back to City Hall with no hassles.

* * *

"Hey Oliver, we got to take a look at this affordable housing legislat…" he spoke as he stood up and turned around, his words being cut short at the surprise of seeing Kara with Oliver, "Kara?"

"Hi Mr Lance" she replied cheerfully.

"It's so good to see you again" as he gave her a hug, "What are you doing here? Please don't tell me there's another alien invasion? Does the world need saving again?"

"Oh no, not at all Mr Lance. I just came here to ask a favour of Oliver."

"Oh ok, no problem. And please, call me Quentin" he said lastly.

"So, Kara, I am going to need at least a day to settle my affairs, and then I will get back to you" said Oliver.

"Ok, I'll just go back to my Earth, and then come back."

"Sounds good. I'll see you soon then" said Oliver as he extended his hand once again. This time, she was expecting it and shook it without surprise or hesitation. She greeted Quentin as well before using the extrapolator Cisco gave her to open a breach to Earth-38 and step through. Oliver felt amused at the bewildered face of Quentin, who was still coming to grips with the concept of interdimensional breaches. To be fair to Quentin, so was Oliver himself.

"Well, do you mind telling me what that was about?" asked Quentin.

"She needs help training a friend on her Earth" replied Oliver succinctly.

"You going?"

"I did promise her that if she ever needed my help, I'd be there. The problem is that I'll be gone for at least a week."

"Well, I think you should go."

"Quentin, I can't afford to leave now."

"Oliver, you got a whole team now at the Bunker that can hold the fort, and Thea and I have everything under control here at City Hall. With everything that's been going on with Prometheus, I think it'll do you some good to get out of here for a little while. A change of scenery, you know. Being the Mayor or the Green Arrow is hard enough, I couldn't imagine doing both. Take this break, you've earned it."

Oliver took a deep breath before replying to Quentin, who was telling the truth. Being the Mayor and the Green Arrow was taking a toll on him, and Prometheus was making things very personal. He'd thought that Slade would have been the most personal foe he'd ever encounter, but Prometheus was slowly starting to edge Slade in that regard. Perhaps it would do him some good to go to a place where he wasn't burdened at all.

"If I go, we're going to need to come up with a reason for why I'll be gone."

"Leave that to me and Thea. I've heard Councilwoman Pollard is into spiritual retreats and what not, so I'll see if that story rolls."

"Thank you."

"Oh, don't worry about it. Let's look at this legislation, alright?" replied Quentin as he sat down and opened the file he was holding in his hand.

* * *

"I heard Kara was here" said Thea as she walked into Oliver's office. He sat by his desk, still contemplating whether this was the right time for him to go or not.

"Yeah, she was" replied Oliver.

"What did she want?" asked Thea.

"She needs my help. She has a friend on her Earth that needs training."

"Oh. You should probably go."

"Quentin said that. I'm still having some doubts."

"Why?"

"The city needs me, Thea."

"Ollie, the city _always_ needs you. You spend so much time taking care of the city that you forget that you need to take care of yourself. Don't you think it'll be good for you to go to a place where you're not burdened as the mayor, or the Green Arrow? A place where you can just be… Oliver Queen. And Kara is literally and figuratively a bundle of light and joy. Being around her could be good for you."

"When did you become the queen of wisdom and life advice?" asked Oliver playfully.

"I've always been a queen… No pun intended" replied Thea, winking at Oliver before turning around and leaving the office.


	2. Chapter 2

Oliver had really taken Thea's words to heart. He knew spending time around Kara could be fun, but what she said about him not being burdened really enticed him. He's been burdened with missions for the past 7 years and perhaps going to Earth-38, even if it was just for 10 days, would help remember how it feels to be just Oliver Queen again. Then again, just being 'Oliver Queen' was a lot harder than it sounded. After everything that has happened in his life, he didn't know if there was much of Oliver Queen left. He was in the Loft, having already packed everything, including his Green Arrow suit and equipment. He was just going through his two bags and making sure everything he needed was there.

He had spoken to City Council about his 'spiritual retreat'. Quentin was right about Councilwoman Pollard, who was very supportive of Oliver. The rest of the council didn't seem to mind except Councilman Collins, who pestered Oliver with questions regarding the details of the 'retreat'. He flinched for a second as he heard the sound of the interdimensional breach open up, but he quickly relaxed when he remembered that it was Kara. She was in her Supergirl suit.

"Hey" she said as she saw him.

"How are you?" Oliver spoke without turning around.

"Great, great… You ready to go?"

"Yep" replied Oliver, turning around. The door opened and Thea entered, elated at seeing Kara once again.

"Kara! How have you been?" said Thea as she hugged Kara.

"I've been great" replied Kara as she returned the hug.

"You guys leaving already?" asked Thea.

"Yeah" replied Oliver as he walked over to Thea and hugged her, "It's only for 10 days" he said as Thea gripped him tightly and squeezed.

"You take care of him, okay?" said Thea to Kara.

"Oh, he'll be fine."

"See you in a minute, Speedy."

* * *

Oliver would never get used to the process of stepping through a breach. One second, you're staring into a white abyss of blue energy, and the next… you're met with the sight of several government agents clothed in black, all pointing guns at him.

"Supergirl" said the brunette woman in the center, relieved as she dropped her gun, "It's ok everyone. Stand down." Just like that, the agents all holstered their weapons and continued with their work as if nothing happened. Oliver eyed down the entire facility that he was in. Everything was state of the art. The control hub behind the brunette agent was probably where they oversaw field operations. This facility was sure as hell just as good as A.R.G.U.S, if not even better. Kara walked over to the brunette woman and gave her a hug.

"Kara, who is this?" asked the women.

"This is my friend from Earth-1, Oliver Queen. He'll be helping me train Mon-El. Oliver, this is my sister, Alex."

"Nice to meet you" said Oliver as he dropped one bag and extended a hand to Alex Danvers. She apprehensively shook his hand before turning back to Kara.

"I'm not sure if Director J'onzz or Mon-El will like this" said Alex.

"You're not wrong about that, Agent Danvers." Oliver whipped to his right as he saw a tall, dark man approaching the three of them. Just from the way the man carried himself, Oliver could tell he was a man of honour and respect. His tone and stature made Oliver think that it was more probable that this was Director J'onzz rather than Mon-El.

"Oliver, this is…" Kara was interrupted as J'onn introduced himself.

"J'onn J'onzz, Director of the DEO."

"Oliver Queen" said Oliver as he shook hands with J'onn. He noticed that J'onn had a particularly firm grip, one a little stronger than he'd expect from an aged director of a government organisation. He was probably enhanced in some way, or an alien.

"Oliver is going to be helping me train Mon-El for the next few days" said Kara.

"I understand that he is your friend, Kara, but you cannot just bring strangers into the DEO" said Alex.

"He's not just a friend. He's a fellow hero and he's been one for several years. I hope that you're not doubting my judgement, Alex." Kara understood that they she was simply being precautious, but she did feel slightly insulted that she didn't trust her judgement of Oliver.

"I do not doubt your judgement Kara. If Kara vouches for you, then you must be a good man" said J'onn towards Oliver, "However, as director of the DEO, it is my responsibility to ensure the safety of my agents and the civilians of National City. If I have any hint of an ulterior motive Mr Queen, there will be consequences."

"I understand that, Director. I'm just here to help a friend" replied Oliver.

"Alright. If Kara can trust you, then so can I. Welcome to the DEO" said J'onn, "Agent Danvers, please escort Mr Queen to a room where he will be staying."

"Of course" said Alex as she started to walk off with Oliver and Kara following her. Oliver walked with Kara a few steps behind Alex where he proceeded to ask her about Director J'onzz. Oliver understood that the Director could trust him because Kara did, but he still thought it felt odd that he was so willing to accommodate Oliver. He found Alex's reaction to be the far more natural of the two.

"Kara. Isn't it weird how he's ok with me being here?" asked Oliver.

"Not really. He's a Martian, so he can read your mind" Oliver raised his eyebrows in concern, "But he doesn't do that. He can still read your general psychic energy. I guess he felt that you were trustworthy." Well, being a Martian did explain the firm grip. Oliver was still wholly uncomfortable with the idea of someone being able to read his mind, but Kara's words did assure him that J'onn didn't overstep that line unless it was necessary. He followed Alex through the hallways of the DEO for no more than a couple of minutes before she led him into a room.

It wasn't as nice as The Loft, of course, but it wasn't bad at all. Straight ahead of him was a window with a decent view of National City. The bed was to his immediate left as he entered, while the door to the bathroom was to his right. There was a desk with a chair next to the bed with a mirror attached to the wall, and there was a small cupboard against the wall on the far side. The dark grey scheme of the room was nice. It was for sure quite like a military quarters, but it still felt cosy.

"This is where you'll be staying for the time that you're here. Now, if you'll excuse, I'm going to get back to work" said Alex, as she exited the room. Oliver took several more steps into the room and placed both of his bags on the bed.

"If you want, I could give you the couch in my apartment" offered Kara.

"No, no, I'm fine here. I wouldn't want to bother you like that" replied Oliver, "So, what exactly is the DEO?" he asked.

"The Department of Extranormal Operations. We deal with alien threats and make sure that there's peaceful co-existence between humans and aliens" replied Kara, "I'll give you a tour just now, if you'd like?" she offered.

"Sure."

* * *

Kara gave Oliver a tour of the parts of the building that would be most important to him. While he never showed much emotion on his face, Kara could tell that he was pleased with the training and sparring facilities. She knew for sure that he was going to spend a lot of his time down there. They were now back on the main floor where Oliver and her were standing by the control center, eyeing the screens in front of them. Nothing much was happening, but Oliver was just gauging how everyone operated. Mon-El would be arriving soon for a training session, and she had informed him of everything that he'd need to know about Mon-El, including his weakness to lead. He had met Winn, whose social awkwardness reminded him of Felicity.

"Kara."

Oliver and Kara both turned around when they heard her name being called. They were being approached by a young man, no older than 30, wearing a black suit that was similar to the standard DEO agent uniform.

"Mon-El" replied Kara with a smile as she walked up to him and greeted him. So this is the man that Oliver would be training. Oliver noticed how Mon-El carried himself. A man with pride and an ego.

"I thought we were going to be training now" said Mon-El.

"Yeah, but I have someone who's going to help me. Mon-El, this is Oliver." Mon-El walked towards Oliver and extended a hand.

"You're Kara's friend from another universe?" asked Mon-El as he and Oliver shook hands. Oliver did his best not to wince as Mon-El squeezed his hand a little too tightly, much more than J'onn did.

"Yes" replied Oliver as they let go. He definitely picked up on Mon-El's slight reaction. Jealousy.

"So what powers do you have? Something that will help with my training I hope?" asked Mon-El.

"Actually, Oliver doesn't have any powers" replied Kara.

"What?" replied Mon-El in confusion, "So what's the point then? No offense, but you're just a human. How are you going to help me?"

"Well, why don't we head downstairs, and I'll show you… _Mon-El_ " said Oliver, placing emphasis on Mon-El's name. Mon-El recognised the challenge from Oliver and nodded before the three of them made their way to the sparring room.

* * *

Oliver stood in the center of the training room with his bow in his hand and his quiver holstered on his back. He waited, anticipating the release of the tennis balls at any second. He heard the snatch release of the machine and quickly fired off 3 arrows, each pinning a tennis ball to the wall. He spun around as 3 more were released behind him, firing off another 3 arrows. He turned to face Mon-El and Kara on his left. Kara smiled cheerfully, excited that Oliver was showcasing his skill-set, but Mon-El still seemed a little in doubt. An idea struck Oliver, as he spoke up.

"Kara, can you grab a couple of coins please?" he asked.

"Sure" she replied, speeding off and returning in a second with two quarters. She knew where this was going. She flung one past Oliver's left side, who shot it down with an arrow. She held up the next one to throw it, but Oliver had already nocked another arrow and shot, knocking the coin out of Kara's hand, much to her and Mon-El's shock.

"That was awesome!" screamed Kara, almost jumping for joy in excitement.

"Are you convinced now?" said Oliver towards Mon-El, who shrugged his shoulders before replying.

"I figured you'd be good with that thing. I'm interested to see how you'd do without it" replied Mon-El.

"Well, I'm glad that you asked that question."

"Why?"

"Because I don't need the bow. This bow, these arrows, they're all tools. If you rely on them too much, they become crutches. I am the weapon. Luckily for you Mon-El, you have powers. Powers that are of a much greater help than a bow, but you can't afford to be complacent with them. Sooner or later, you will find yourself in a situation where they will be of no use to you."

"So, what are you proposing?" asked Mon-El.

"You need to learn how to not rely on your powers."

"And how do we do that?"

"Lead."

"What?" replied Mon-El in shock. The bluntness of Oliver's statement caused Mon-El to believe that he may have heard incorrectly for a second.

"We can expose you to a small amount of lead to weaken yourself slightly and then we can train. It'll help you to overcome your weakness and…" Oliver was interrupted by Mon-El.

"I'm sorry, but is this some kind of a sick joke?!" asked Mon-El angrily.

"No, it isn't" replied Oliver bluntly.

"You're out of your mind. Who the hell do you think you are suggesting that I literally poison myself? You know what… I don't need this." Mon-El stormed towards the door, exiting the training room and ignoring Kara's calls for him to stay. She turned to face Oliver, who seemed unfazed by Mon-El's tantrum.

"Did that go the way you expected?" asked Kara.

"Just about."

"Well, what else would you expect when you suggest that he willingly be exposed to the stuff that can literally kill him?"

"Kara, you asked for my help, and this is it. He needs to understand that this life isn't a joke."

"I think he gets that Oliver, but he doesn't even know you. How could he trust you with something like that?"

"He trusts you."

"Oliver, you're asking a lot of me here."

"I know. You don't have to convince him to do it, but just… try get through to him."

Kara nodded, acknowledging Oliver's request before exiting the room and going to speak to Mon-El. Mon-El reminded him a lot of himself before he was on the island, Not just that, some parts of him also reminded Oliver like how he was when he first returned. Kara had told him how he was supposedly a guard of the Daxamite Royal Family. He didn't buy it. Mon-El was someone else, and there was a part of him that was still shut out to Kara. Whatever it was, he would figure it out.

* * *

Oliver had just finished setting up the lead dispensers in the training room. A couple of dispensers which contained lead would release a gas with lead particles into the room. Obviously, the settings were very low. Even the highest setting wouldn't be enough to fatally wound Mon-El. The goal was just to weaken Mon-El, not hurt him. As much as he seemed to be an arrogant, egotistical asshole, he could see that Mon-El wanted to do well. He set his bow and arrows down on a table against the wall next to the door and exited the training room. He headed upstairs, hoping to see that Kara had at least gotten Mon-El to be willing to talk to Oliver.

"Where's Mon-El and Kara?" asked Oliver of Winn as he reached the main level.

"She's talking to him in the conference room upstairs" replied Winn, who continued working. Oliver nodded and headed up the stairs, spotting Kara and Mon-El in one of the rooms. Clearly, the conversation wasn't going too well. Neither of them noticed Oliver as he walked towards the door, the closer he got, the better he could hear their conversation, which was still a bit muffled through the glass.

"Why did you bring this guy here anyway? I'm fine training with you."

"He's been doing this for years, Mon-El. I am still relatively new to this and I could use his help."

"How could you side with him on this? How do you know him anyway?"

"We fought Dominators together on his Earth, and he's not here because he has to be. He's doing us both a favour."

"Well, he could do us another one by hopping on out of here back to his universe."

"Rao, why do you have to be like this?!"

"Like what?"

"Like a man-child. Do you know how much more you could accomplish by getting your head out of your ass?"

"I will as soon you get your head out of yours!" Mon-El immediately winced as he said that, realising that he crossed the line, "Kara, I'm…"

"Forget it" she replied, storming off. She simply looked at Oliver when she noticed him standing by the door. The fact that Mon-El regretted his words didn't make Oliver's anger any less intense. He was fine with Mon-El distrusting and disliking Oliver, but he was crossing the line by quarrelling with Kara. Oliver immediately entered as Kara left, with Mon-El scoffing as he noticed Oliver entering.

"What do you want?" asked Mon-El, annoyed.

"You know, it's fine if you don't like me, or want nothing to do with me, but Kara doesn't deserve this. She's trying to help you. So try to be at least a little grateful."

"Listen, of all the people I need a lecture from, you're not one of them."

"Cut the bullshit Mon-El. Who are you? Really?"

"What kind of a question is that?"

"You know. I don't know much about you, but you're not a royal guard. You're someone else. And whoever that person is, they're ashamed of something they've done and they don't know how to express that. That's why you're putting up this egotistical façade and pretending to know it all."

"What the… Who the hell told you that crap?" replied Mon-El, trying to downplay Oliver's statements.

"Nobody told me. I read that off you like a damn book!" finished Oliver, before walking out of the room. Mon-El was frozen in place, unable to comprehend the accuracy of what Oliver told him. He punched a hole in a chair next to him out of frustration, before running his hands through his hair and taking a deep breath.

* * *

After a half hour had passed, Mon-El had reflected on Oliver's words and had calmed down significantly. He still wasn't convinced that Oliver could help him physically, but the way Oliver had managed to pinpoint exactly what Mon-El was feeling was shocking. Hell, if Oliver had a superpower, it wasn't archery, he was most probably a psychic. Those words from Oliver had caused Mon-El to gain a some respect towards him. He wanted to speak to him again. If Oliver couldn't help him physically, maybe he could help him mentally. He got up from the chair in the conference room and started heading towards Oliver's room.

He reached Oliver's room and found the door wide open. He took a couple of steps in after realising it was empty. Just as he was about to leave, he noticed a small piece of paper lying on the floor next to the desk, walking over to pick it up and place it back on the desk. He inspected it for a second before realising that it was a picture of a girl. The creases were prominent, so it took him a second to get a clear look of the girl in the photo. He frowned out of shock upon recognising the girl in the photo…

Kara?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should have mentioned earlier that this story takes place around 2x11 to 2x13 of Supergirl, with Oliver becoming involved with the events of these episodes. It's not necessary to re-watch those episodes, but maybe just brush up on them if you don't remember what happened so you're not lost.

Oliver beat down the Wing Chun dummy in front of him, throwing furious forearm and palm strikes at every branch of it. Hopefully, his words hadn't pissed Mon-El off even more and rather made him realise that Oliver would be a great help to him. Mon-El's behaviour was textbook of Oliver's during his younger years. He recognised it immediately when he first met him. He continued battering the dummy until he heard the door open, turning to see who it was…

"Are you calm now?" asked Oliver to Mon-El, who slowly walked towards him.

"Not exactly" replied Mon-El, before he threw a punch directly at Oliver's chest, causing him to fly several feet across the room. Oliver hadn't felt a pain like that since he was hit by a Mirakuru soldier. He could tell Mon-El held back, otherwise, he'd be dead right now. Still, it felt like he had been hit by a truck.

"Your words did make me think. You got through to me and I actually gained some respect for you… until I found this" said Mon-El as he pulled out the picture of Earth-1 Kara Danvers. Oliver cringed in disappointment and anger. Mon-El really was a tool…

"You don't understand" the words struggled out of Oliver's mouth as he tried to regain his breath and get back up, his hand carefully making its way to his back pocket. He wasn't going to let that punch just slide.

"Oh I understand pretty well. You're not her friend. What are you, a stalker? A Cadmus agent? If you're trying to hurt her, I will kill you!"

"I doubt it" said Oliver as he struggled to his feet.

"You're just a regular guy, what could you possibly do to me?" asked Mon-El, cocky as usual.

"This."

Oliver pulled out a small hand-held device from his back pocket, pressing the button on top. Suddenly, there was a burst akin to an air freshener in the room. Mon-El initially registered it as nothing, but after a second, he started to feel really light-headed. He started to cough several times and his vision started blurring. His throat and nostrils burnt as he took breaths. He made out Oliver's shape in front of him before he felt a whack across his face. Then a kick towards his abdomen, an elbow on his head, a knee in his midsection. All strikes which should be having no effect on him.

He desperately winged out a punch, but Oliver effortlessly ducked under it and countered with a punch of his own. Luckily for Mon-El, he wasn't exactly a stranger to a fist fight and still retained a bit of his strength. He managed to grab a hold of Oliver's arm, over-hooking it before spinning around and tossing Oliver across the room once more. Before he could make another move, a gust of wind flushed through the entire room and the air suddenly felt breathable again. He heard the sound of plastic shattering as the two dispensers were destroyed before turning to his right and seeing Kara.

"What the hell is wrong with you two?!" she said angrily, "Can neither of you solve a problem without throwing punches?!"

"Kara, you don't understand. He's not your friend. He's trying to hurt you and he's been stalking you" said Mon-El, as Oliver was struggling to get to his feet once more.

"How could you possibly know that?"

"What other explanation would you have for this?" said Mon-El as he held up the picture once again. He expected her to be shocked and angry, just like him, but instead, a look of disappointment and disgust formed on her face.

"Just when I thought you couldn't be any more of a jerk" she said, before snatching the picture from his hand and going to help Oliver back to his feet. She handed the picture back to him and apologised as Oliver limped out of the room, followed by Kara while Mon-El was frozen in place out of confusion.

* * *

Oliver hadn't sustained any major injuries in the scuffle, but he was still treated quickly in the med-bay before he exited the DEO for the first time. Kara had offered to give him a tour of National City some time, but for now, he simply asked for directions to a bar. He walked to Al's Bar by himself, and was still somewhat shocked seeing all of the aliens there. Luckily, none of them looked even close to as intimidating as the Dominators and majority were really friendly. She had told him that it was the best bar in National City, a label that may have something to do with it selling alien alcohol. He ordered an alien cider, yet another thing that he had never thought he would do in his life. It tasted very good, nonetheless, better than most of the things that he had on Earth-1.

The confrontation with Mon-El confirmed to Oliver what he had suspected from when Kara first approached him. Mon-El and Kara had feelings for each other. He was the guy she vaguely described to him. He thought the initial jealousy from Mon-El was natural, but now he knew that Mon-El cared for her. He thought he was looking out for her by beating up Oliver over a picture of her that wasn't her. He enjoyed the cider for several minutes by himself before someone pulled up a chair next to him.

"Just a club soda, please" said the man, who waited for his drink to arrive and took a sip before speaking up, "I'm sorry about earlier."

"It's ok, Mon-El. You were just trying to look out for Kara" replied Oliver.

"Still, I let my emotions get the better of me… again."

"Don't beat yourself up over it. That's something I struggle with too sometimes."

"How did you figure out I wasn't a royal guard?" asked Mon-El.

"I used to be a lot like you, Mon-El. In many ways, I still am. You remind me of my younger self."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"A bit of both. You mean well. You just don't know how to express it." Mon-El nodded, acknowledging Oliver's words as the truth. It felt good for him to finally come across someone who truly understood him. Both men sat in silence for another few seconds while taking another sip of their drinks before Mon-El spoke up again.

"So, I take it the woman in the picture isn't Kara Zor-El?" asked Mon-El.

"No, but she is Kara Danvers. Just not the one you know."

"There's a Kara on your Earth?"

"There was."

"I'm sorry to hear that" replied Mon-El sympathetically, "You must have known her?"

"Her and I were… together."

"So it must have been totally weird for you when you met Kara? This Kara."

"More than you can imagine. Before you ask, there is nothing between me and Kara. We're just friends" Mon-El's respect for Oliver had increased exponentially. Not only did he understand Mon-El, but him being here and helping Kara was something that he definitely was not obligated to do. The fact that he was doing it told Mon-El the type of man that Oliver really was.

"However…" continued Oliver, "That's not something I can say for you two." Mon-El sighed before replying to Oliver.

"Did Kara tell you?" asked Mon-El.

"She didn't say it was you, but the way you've been acting gave it away. Why haven't you two taken the leap?"

"It's complicated, Oliver."

"So make it simple then." Oliver downed the last of his cider before standing up. He reached for his wallet to pay, but Mon-El stopped him from doing so.

"Don't worry about it, it's on the house" said Mon-El, causing Oliver to raise his eyebrows in confusion, "I work here, my shift starts soon."

Oliver nodded, acknowledging Mon-El before exiting the bar.

* * *

Oliver was back at the DEO, staring at the screens in front of him displaying a picture of a White Martian amidst various digital maps of National City. Shortly after he had left the bar, a White Martian attacked M'gann and was thwarted by Kara and J'onn. He stood a fair distance from Kara and Winn, who seemed to be bickering about something. After the ordeal with the Dominators, Oliver was certain that they were probably going to be the ugliest threat he'd ever encountered. He was wrong. These White Martians made the Dominators look half-decent.

"What have you found Agent Schott?" asked J'onn as he walked past Oliver.

"Nothing yet. This guy is hard to track, but we are monitoring every probable target so when he attacks, we'll be ready."

"In that case, I'll prep our strike teams."

"J'onn, you should stay here at the DEO for protection" said Kara.

"It's not here for J'onn" interjected M'gann, "It's here for me. Hunting me. The White Martians want me to pay for my war crimes. They're telling me, psychically."

"In which case, you have to remain here. You go outside, you're vulnerable" replied J'onn.

"I can't put you all in danger."

"It's what we do. We protect people" replied Kara.

"I don't need protection" said M'gann sternly before walking off.

"M'gann" called J'onn. He walked after her and tried to convince her to stay, but she was adamant about not staying at the DEO. Oliver was prepping himself for the battle ahead. He knew that he just came here to help Mon-El, but he wasn't going to sit back and let one of Kara's friends get hurt. He was sure of that.

* * *

An hour had passed, and there was still no sign of any White Martian activity. Oliver had double-checked all of his equipment and was going to head back to the training room to kill some time. He wasn't used to having a lot of time on his hands. He was either busy being the mayor or jumping off rooftops. Now, he didn't have to do either of those things. Training would be the surest way to spend his time. He was about to enter the elevator when he spotted Kara out on the balcony, staring with empty eyes at the city. She looked like she was bothered by something. He decided against entering the elevator and walked out onto the balcony.

"Hey" he said, as he stood next to her.

"Hey" replied Kara.

"Are you okay? It seems like something's bothering you" asked Oliver, concernedly.

"Oh, it's nothing much. It's my Earth birthday today…"

"Oh, happy birthday."

"Thanks. Usually, I always spend it with Alex, but her partner surprised her with tickets to go see her favourite band. I'm not mad at her but I just… I really wanted to spend it with her, you know."

"I understand. Sisters are special. If you want, I could go get Barry, and Thea and the others, and we could do something for you" joked Oliver.

"No, no, it's fine Oliver. Thank you for offering though."

"Well, if there's anything else you want to talk about, you know where to find me" said Oliver with a smile, as he walked back inside the DEO.

* * *

Having just finished training, Oliver intercepted Kara and Alex as he exited the elevator, surprised to see Alex not at the concert. He figured she probably felt guilty for not being with Kara and decided to come back. He greeted both of them before walking together to Winn. A couple of hours since the Martian's first appearance, and still no activity.

"Find out anything else?" asked Oliver.

"All is clear on the Martian front. We're about to game-plan some new tracking techniques" replied Winn.

"M'gann, you're here" said Kara as she spotted M'gann walking with J'onn, just as surprised as Oliver to see that she had changed her mind.

"I want to help in any way that I can. I hate them even more than you do" replied M'gann. Oliver winced for a second. That's not how M'gann talks. It was possible that she was really didn't like the White Martians, but something was still very strange about her body language and choice of words.

"Very brave of you to come. We'll do everything we can to keep you safe" said Alex.

"Agent Schott, let's brief M'gann on what we know so far" said J'onn before the three of them walked over to another computer. Oliver turned to his left to get a better view of the screens and was met with a much more shocking sight. Another M'gann, walking down the stairs on his left.

"Guys" called out Oliver, getting everybody's attention.

"J'onn, I thought about what you said earlier…" The other M'gann froze in her footsteps as she saw the other M'gann standing next to J'onn.

"Well, if she's here, then… Oh, no, no, no, no!" rambled Winn as Alex withdrew her sidearm while Oliver withdrew the Kershaw Brawler knife he always kept in his back pocket. He felt slightly helpless in the moment without his bow, clenching his left fist out of reflex.

"You greens never learn, do you?" said the M'gann next to J'onn. She was the White Martian. The White Martian tried to run towards M'gann, but J'onn grabbed her and pulled her back, while Oliver and Kara ran over to the real M'gann and stood in front of her to shield her. Alex struggled to get a clear shot as J'onn and the White Martian brawled in front of them. The lights in the building started flickering as J'onn threw the Martian into the screens, making it even more difficult for them to see what was going on. The whole building went black for several seconds before Winn rebooted the lights. When the lights came back on, J'onn was getting up from the floor, with the White Martian having escaped.

"He's gone" said M'gann, prompting J'onn to hastily walk over to a computer and put the entire building on lockdown.

"Why are you putting us on lockdown?" asked Kara.

"The only way to catch that thing is to trap it in here" said J'onn, wiping the little drop of blood on the corner of his mouth.

"With us?" said Winn.

"We don't even know where it went" said Alex.

"Where did it go?"

"It could be here. It could be any of us" added Oliver, as the looks of suspicion were plastered over everybody's faces in the room.


	4. Chapter 4

Oliver, Kara, Winn, Alex, J'onn and 5 other DEO agents all stood around the circular table in the center of the control hub. Oliver was now in his suit, but he wasn't wearing the mask and the hood wasn't draped over his head. He felt much more comfortable with his bow in his hand, as he eyed everyone at the table. Trying to look for any suspicious behaviour was harder than it seemed. Everybody was on edge, and being trapped inside a building with an alien that could be impersonating anybody certainly wasn't helping anyone keep calm.

"This is everyone who was inside when the doors shut" said Kara.

"If one of us is a White Martian, how do we tell who's really themselves?" asked Alex.

"Oh, that's easy, we just have to ask personal questions. Right, like, things only we would know the answer to" suggested Winn. Oliver smirked a bit at Winn's suggestion, as it was something that Felicity would totally suggest, "Like what's the scented candle that I hate?"

"Teak wood and tobacco" replied Kara.

"No, they can read minds too" said J'onn, "They know all your preferences, everything that makes you who you are." The tension in the room remained high as everybody continued to exchange looks of suspicion.

"What are you looking at?" barked the agent opposite Oliver. Oliver thought he was talking to him, but he was looking at Agent Vasquez next to Oliver.

"What?" replied Vasquez. The agent, Byron, immediately pulled out his gun, pointing it at Vasquez. She too pulled out hers in retaliation and so did Alex. Oliver nocked an arrow on his bow and the suddenly almost everybody in the room was pointing a weapon at someone. Tempers flared up as they all started shouting at each other.

"Holster your side-arms!" said Alex.

"I wasn't looking at you" said Vasquez.

"Yes, she was" said Byron adamantly. Alex tried edging her way towards him, but he turned his gun on her, causing Kara to jump in front her sister protectively.

"Now you really better put that away" said Kara sternly.

"But it could be her. It could be any of you."

"Hey, stop pointing your weapon!" said Oliver angrily as the man turned his gun towards Oliver now.

"Then back off!"

"Come on! We're not going to lose it here!" said J'onn.

"J'onn, you can read minds. Can you scan us, to see who's who?" suggested Kara. J'onn lowered his gun, and started looking at everybody individually, each with an intense look of concentration on his face.

"No, I can't. There's some kind of psychic interference."

"Well, that's convenient" said agent Byron, who was still unnerved.

"He's after me. I should turn myself over. Maybe he'll let you go" said M'gann.

"Great idea. Mission accomplish…"

"Absolutely not!" interrupted J'onn.

"That is not how we do things" added Kara.

"It's all my fault" said M'gann.

"I'm the one who sealed us in here" replied J'onn.

"No, you don't understand. This isn't just any White Martian. Armek was my… mate."

"Mate? Like your husband?" asked Oliver.

"It's not the same for White Martians. It was an arrangement, not a choice, but yes. We were bonded, and you all have a right to know that he is the worst of my kind."

"Oh, well that makes me feel so much better" said Winn sarcastically.

"It doesn't matter who he is" said J'onn.

"J'onn is right. We're going to find him and we're going to beat him" said Kara.

"First things first, I'm going to collect everybody's side-arms" said Alex. For Oliver, that would mean giving in his bow. He would normally be reluctant to do it, but he remembered that it would probably be temporary and he could use the flechettes holstered by his hips in any case.

"Are you crazy?!" screamed agent Byron.

"Will somebody take his gun?" retaliated Vasquez next to Oliver once again, causing tensions to flare up as everybody lifted their guns once again, pointing them at each other while they all clamoured.

"All right, that's enough!" screamed Oliver at the top of his lungs.

"There is one way to determine who is the White Martian and who isn't!" said J'onn.

"How?" asked Kara.

"Fire."

* * *

J'onn lit the Bunsen burner in the lab upstairs as everyone stood around. Oliver noticed the fear on J'onn's face and how his demeanour changed once the flame was lit. Fire must be his weakness.

"There was a time, when we were in hiding on Mars. Trying to build a resistance to the White Martians. We worked out of a network of caves, but they would infiltrate us, send in spies to wreak havoc. Anyone who came through the mouth of the cave, had to put their hand to the fire" explained J'onn.

"What did the fire do?" asked Oliver.

"This" said M'gann as she placed her hand in front of the fire. Oliver watched as her human skin began to disappear, revealing the White Martian skin beneath.

"Okay, that's not creepy at all" said Winn as he nervously laughed.

"Do Vasquez first" said Agent Byron, "Since she was so quick to deny that she's a White Martian."

"Because I'm not, you moron." She walked over to the flame and placed her hand towards it while Kara stood in front, observing her. No changes, "Now him."

Agent Byron walked to the flame and slowly raised his hand towards the flame. Oliver stood behind him cautiously, drawing back his arrow, ready to fire if anything changed. Nothing. He sighed in relief as he lowered his bow. J'onn had given him Nth metal arrowheads which would provide increased penetration into the dense White Martian skin.

"J'onn, you okay?" asked M'gann, noticing his fearful body language.

"J'onn?" said Kara, concernedly.

"He's not doing it" said Agent Byron. Oliver threw a look of temper at Agent Byron who was ready to draw his gun once again. He stopped immediately as he saw the look Oliver gave him, who had grown sick of his accusations. M'gann began speaking in a language that nobody else understood. Martian, presumed Oliver. She spoke and placed her hands on his shoulders, reassuring him that she was there for him. J'onn hesitantly placed his hand in front of the flame, turning the colour of his hand dark green. Oliver was up next. He removed the glove off his right hand and stepped towards the flame without any hesitation. Kara breathed a heavy sigh of relief when nothing changed. She felt reassured to know that the real Oliver was in the room.

"Winn?" said Kara.

"Hmm?"

"You're up."

"Oh, wait, seriously? It's me" he said nonchalantly.

"Everyone has to do it" said Kara sternly.

"Okay, geez." Strike one, in Oliver's eyes. He waited for Winn to turn around before he drew back his bow once again, more ready to fire than ever. That behaviour was extremely strange. The type of behaviour that gave away the probability of him being a White Martian. Winn stepped towards the flame and placed his left hand towards it.

"You got me" he said, as the flame turned his entire left human hand into a White Martian one. He upped the gas on the burner and swung it around, setting a couple of agents on fire. Oliver fired an arrow before ducking under the flame. The arrow penetrated the shoulder of the White Martian, who pulled it out and kicked Oliver back before kicking the table in front of him over. Kara ran towards the White Martian, but was tossed on to the table. The White Martian grabbed J'onn by the throat before dangling the flame in front of his face.

"I'm so glad you didn't turn yourself in, my love. I would have missed all the fun!" he said before attempting to burn J'onn's face. Kara sat up and used her ice breath to extinguish the flame, giving J'onn a split-second to throw a punch at the White Martian. The White Martian pushed him away and punched Kara, running for the exit.

* * *

"I can't believe it was Winn and I didn't know" said Kara, disappointed with herself.

"None of us knew" said Oliver, giving Kara a reassuring nod, before turning back to the arrow in his hand. The DEO had amazing technology at its disposal, and while that didn't include much arrows, it certainly provided enough for Oliver to create makeshift arrows of his own. He soaked bandages in an extremely flammable alien liquid before wrapping it around the arrowhead. He attached a wide, thin gear on the side of his quiver closest to his back, so when he withdrew an arrow, it would create a spark that would set the arrow on fire, which would be fatal when shot at a White Martian.

"The motion sensor is offline" said Alex as she sat by a computer, "Thank God the containment cells are still locked. As Winn, he had access to the whole system."

_"REACTOR TEMPERATURE NEARLY CRITICAL!"_

The automated voice blared out over the speaker system as the red alarm lights started flashing too.

"Now what?" asked Kara.

"It's the reactor" replied Agent Vasquez, "The one that powers the building. It's going into overload."

"What does that mean?" asked Kara.

"It means he sabotaged it" replied J'onn, "This whole building is going to explode, and it's going to take 10 city blocks with it."

* * *

"Can we shut it down manually?" asked Alex.

"No" replied J'onn, "The White Martian took Winn's form, but it also took his intelligence and re-encoded everything. We're locked out of the entire system."

"So we need the real Winn to unlock it" said Oliver.

"How do we know that Winn's even in the building?" asked Kara.

"In order for Armek to shapeshift into Winn so exactly, he'd have to be close by, to keep the telepathic link. He's in the DEO."

"Kara, can't you X-ray vision the building to find him?" suggested Oliver.

"No. _Someone_ lined the walls of the building with lead" replied Kara, as she gave a look of annoyance to J'onn who simply brushed it off.

"We need to search the building then. How long until the reactor explodes?" asked J'onn.

"According to our calculations, about 15 minutes" replied Agent Vasquez.

"Vasquez, Demos, you take two teams up through the north wing," said J'onn, "Supergirl, Alex and Oliver, you hit the basement. Let's go!"

* * *

Oliver, Alex and Kara carefully treaded through the basement halls of the DEO, Kara leading the way. They came to a crossroads, having to decide whether to go right or to search straight ahead.

"Kara, Alex, go right. I'll move ahead" whispered Oliver.

"What? No Oliver, we can't split up. I'm not letting you stay out there by yourself" she replied, clearly concerned for his safety.

"I'll be fine" he replied adamantly, gesturing his head towards the arrow nocked on his bow that was flaming.

"Just be safe, okay?" she said.

"Of course" he replied, before taking several steps ahead while Kara and Alex turned to their right.

* * *

Oliver walked ahead on the path, which eventually forced him to turn left. He cautiously and quietly took steps through the dark hallway. For sure, this was one of the most nerve-racking things he had ever done. Although, he still wasn't unnerved. Almost everything that had happened in his life up until this point had helped him mentally cope with what he was dealing with. The memories of fighting the Dominators was still fresh in his head, so fighting an alien wasn't something that was… alien, to him anymore.

 _"Oliver, Kara, Alex. We've found Winn."_ J'onn's voice blared over their earpieces.

 _"Good. What next?"_ said Kara.

_"Meet us at the reactor room."_

Oliver was about to turn around and head back, but the squeak of a door next to him sent his senses into hyperdrive. He whipped to his left, aiming the arrow at the small gap between the door and the hinge. He cautiously stepped towards it and peeked inside. He pushed the door open slightly more with his foot, shocked at the sight of what was in front of him. There was no White Martian, but there was a confetti of a black goo taping an agent to a wall. He looked closer, trying to see if he could recognise the agent.

"Alex?" said Oliver, out of shock. Oliver immediately tapped and held a button on his earpiece which switched him to Supergirl's frequency only.

"Kara! Kara!"

_"What's up, Oliver?"_

"We were wrong! There's two White Martians in the building!"

_"What?"_

"It's Alex! The other White Martian has shape-shifted into Alex!"

Oliver heard Kara confront the other 'Alex' over the comms, as well as a growl and the sound of someone getting punched in the face. He wanted to go help Kara, but he knew that she could handle herself. He switched his comms frequency back to normal before placing his bow on the floor and drawing a flechette.

"J'onn" spoke up Oliver as he began to cut Alex out of the goo.

_"What's wrong, Oliver?"_

"There's two White Martians. One impersonating Alex. Kara is dealing with it."

_"Where are you?"_

"I'm in storage room C16 in the basement. I've found Alex."

_"Cut her body out of there, see if you can wake her up. We'll check on Alex on our way there, but get to Kara as soon as possible!"_

"Copy."

Oliver finished cut Alex's body down, and he made her sit against the adjacent wall. He slapped her face gently a couple of times, encouraging her to wake up.

"Alex. Alex, wake up!"

"What's going on? The White Martians!" she realised as she tried to get to her feet, but Oliver gently placed his hands on her shoulders and laid her back against the wall. She was still very groggy, definitely not able to go out and fight a White Martian.

"Hey, hey, relax. Stay here for now. J'onn and M'gann should be here soon."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to help Kara" said Oliver, as he picked up his bow and ran out of the room. It took Oliver no more than a minute to reach the reactor room. Kara was on the floor, while the White Martian was standing over her, about to viciously stomp her. He pulled back his bowstring, firing the arrow at the White Martian's leg. It squealed in pain as the arrow penetrated and the fire burned a hole in its leg. It stumbled backwards, allowing Kara to get up and punch it, sending it flying back into a wall. It quickly threw a return punch, knocking Kara back before it turned to look at Oliver.

Oliver nocked another arrow, but it sprinted towards him with immeasurable speed. He barely fired it before he was forced to duck under a swing of the Martian's left arm. It squealed once again as the arrow burned a hole in the arm that it swung at Oliver, but its pain tolerance was exceptional. It continued to swing at Oliver, who ducked and moved out of the way of several of the strikes. White Martians were way stronger than the Dominators, and it reflected in their physique too. Oliver managed to make it back towards Kara unscathed, as she quickly got up and punched the White Martian once again. This battle was just getting started.

* * *

"Almost there. How long till you disable the reactor?" asked J'onn as he and Winn proceeded to the reactor room while M'gann stayed with Alex.

 _Core Breach in four minutes_ , said the speaker system.

"About four minutes" replied Winn.

"That's a good answer."

"Yeah, as long as I can focus, it should be easy." Just as Winn finished that sentence, he and J'onn entered the reactor room, and were confronted with the sight of Kara and Oliver battling with the White Martian. Oliver firing arrows, Kara flying around it and throwing punches. The Martian managed to land a blow on Oliver, causing Winn to wince as Oliver flew back into a wall, "Monsters are real" quipped Winn. J'onn looked to his left and saw Armek running like a freight train towards him. Unable to move in time, he just braced for the impact as he was tackled into a wall.

"Go! Go!" yelled J'onn, as Winn tried find a way past Kara and the White Martian to the computer of the reactor. Winn tried to scurry along the side, but was still frightened as he was coming dangerously close to the chaos. Oliver got up and ran to in front of him, escorting him to the computer and protecting him.

"Ok, ok, whoever encoded this is a genius" said Winn, as an 'Access Denied' prompt popped on the screen, causing Oliver to groan.

"What's going on Winn?" asked Oliver.

"I've been shut out. We have to re-route it" replied Winn as he opened a hatch on the server next to the computer while Oliver continued firing regular arrows at the White Martian. The battle continued for the next two minutes while Winn tried to shut down the reactor, with J'onn and M'gann fighting the other White Martian on the other side of the room as well. Kara was flung across the entire room, and as she got to her feet, Oliver nocked a fire arrow and shot it at the other knee of the White Martian. With both of its legs severely compromised, it dropped to the floor. Kara recognised the opportunity in front of her and flew across the room, pushing the White Martian into the wall next to Oliver before throwing a supersonic punch towards its jaw. Oliver heard the crack of bones as the White Martian collapsed forward, clearly incapacitated.

He and Kara glanced at each other, each acknowledging their teamwork with a smirk. They rushed over to Winn, whom they watched furiously type at the keyboard.

"That… should… do it!" exclaimed Winn, as a computer prompt saying 'Core Stabilised' popped up on the screen, with Winn pumping his fist in the air in victory.

"Oh, that was a close one" said Kara as she breathed heavily.

"Close? We had, like, you know, 12 seconds to spare" joked Winn, drawing a half-chuckle from Oliver and Kara, who were both still breathing heavily, recovering from the fight. Suddenly, they heard another growl from behind them. One White Martian had recovered, and was about to attack J'onn from behind. Oliver quickly reached into his quiver, nocking the last fire arrow he had. He knew exactly where to put it. Just as the Martian was about to take a swing, Oliver let go of the string, as the arrow penetrated the head of the Martian. It slumped to the floor almost immediately as J'onn whipped around, expressing his gratitude to Oliver with a nod.

* * *

Back at the control hub on the main floor, J'onn deactivated the lockdown as everyone finally managed to take a breather. It always extremely stressful when a base of operations was compromised. Oliver knew a very similar feeling from when Ra's exposed his identity and the police raided Verdant.

"I can't believe it's still night time. Feels like it's been one week" remarked Winn.

"One week… Barenaked Ladies" said Alex, gasping as she realised she had forgot about the concert, "I got to call Maggie" she said, rushing off with her phone in hand.

"Hey" Kara heard Oliver call her, and she looked straight ahead to see him approaching her.

"Hey" she replied, "Are you okay? You took a couple of hits from the White Martian."

"Oh, I'm fine. Nothing a couple of ice packs won't fix" replied Oliver, even though he was definitely feeling the impact of those blows, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, well, I thought me and her had a heart-to-heart, but it was just the White Martian. I feel like an idiot, and now I'm feeling even worse because she missed the concert because of me."

"Kara, blaming yourself isn't your superpower. It's mine" said Oliver, with a smile, "She's your sister, Kara. You can have that conversation with her at any time."

"I'm also sorry that you got dragged into this. I brought you here to train Mon-El, and now you had to deal with all of this."

"Don't worry about it. It's part of the job" replied Oliver. He turned slightly, and felt the aching of his entire upper body as he did so. He groaned slightly as he lifted his hand to his chest.

"I think you should go get those ice packs" she said, laughing.

"Yeah" replied Oliver with a smile, "Goodnight" he said as he started to walk back to his room. Kara wished him goodnight too, but ended up feeling a little more disappointed. Alex, Mon-El and neither Oliver were going to be with her for her Earth birthday. She walked to the balcony of the DEO, dejected before flying off into the night.


	5. Chapter 5

Kara sat on her couch in her living room, watching a sit-com as she took sips of her hot chocolate. She was still pretty disappointed that nothing had happened for her 13th Earth Birthday. The literal worst way it could've been spent was fighting White Martians which had infiltrated the DEO. The only good that came out of the night was her and Oliver finding out they make a good combination in the field. She heard a knock on her door, and used her x-ray vision to see who it was. She smiled as she got up and ran to the door.

"Happy Earth birthday" said Alex after Kara opened the door, holding a cupcake in her hand with a single candle on it, "Look, there's a K. Go ahead. Blow it out… Gently!"

"Thank you" said Kara, as she took the cupcake and turned back inside.

"You're welcome."

"So was Maggie mad that you missed the concert?" asked Kara.

"Well, luckily, I have a girlfriend that understands when deadly aliens besiege my place of work, that takes precedence" replied Alex.

"Yeah, I'm glad everyone is okay. That last White Martian? Oof! Boy, did it do a good impression of you."

"Uh, speaking of that White Martian, um, when it was me, did you have a conversation? Because I have these memories. They're like a… almost like a dream that we talked. But I'm not really sure if that was real."

"Do you remember?"

"Yeah. So I'm not crazy?"

"Nope. I guess if the White Martian's bond is strong enough, the telepathy goes both ways."

"Yeah, I guess so. Kara, I'm not ever going anywhere. I promise. Just because I'm with Maggie, it doesn't mean I'm not with you. Always."

"I know. I guess I made those big plans because I wanted the day to be extra special. I felt you were slipping away."

"I'm not. Ever. But is that the only reason you made such big plans?"

"What do you mean?"

"Look, sometimes, you know, in our life, when one part is really confusing, we will pour way more attention than necessary into another. And, you know, you looked a bit overwhelmed when you talked to Mon-El. So, maybe the reason that you made such big plans with me was so that you didn't have to think about how you actually feel about him."

"I told him how I feel."

"Mm-hmm. And you really believe that?"

"He's complicated."

"Mm-hmm. Is Oliver making things complicated?" Kara eyes flared up in surprise and shock at Alex's mention of Oliver.

"What? Oliver? No, no, I mean I barely know him, so no, not at all."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, totally" Alex could tell that Kara was being truthful, but she still wasn't completely convinced by her answer, "Look, I'm not going to lie. Oliver is nice, and he is handsome, but I don't see him in that way. Even if I did, that'd even more complicated."

"Is complicated your new favourite word, sis?" joked Alex. Kara acknowledged her joke with a smile before continuing.

"It's not just because he's human and I'm Kryptonian, but…" Kara paused for a second, trying to think of the best way to tell Alex, "There's a Kara Danvers on his Earth."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Well, there was", Kara's words drew a look of sorrow from Alex, "She was just a human, not a Kryptonian, and Oliver knew her from when they were kids. He loved her, and unfortunately, she died over three years ago."

"Wow, I can't imagine how awkward your first encounter with him was."

"Yeah, he was really cold, and harsh, but he opened up and now we're cool. Imagine how much more awkward that would be if we tried having a relationship."

"Yeah, I totally understand."

"It's not just about Mon-El either, it is about me. Every time I put myself out there, it backfires. I don't want it to happen again, it's too risky."

"You know, I happened to have taken a rather big romantic risk recently. And I got to say, it pays off. Maybe he's worth a shot."

There was another knock at the door, and Kara used her x-ray vision once again to see who was there.

"Who is it?" asked Alex.

"Speak of the devil… Devils?" said Kara as she opened the door to see Oliver and Mon-El standing together, "When did you two become all buddy-buddy with one another?"

"I remembered that it was your Earth birthday, so I stopped by the bar and got Mon-El to come with me. Happy Earth Birthday, Kara" said Oliver.

"Thanks you guys" replied Kara, smiling, "Wait, what presents did you get me?" teased Kara.

"Presents? My presence is your present" joked Mon-El, drawing giggles from Kara and an eye roll from Oliver, "For real though… we brought drinks" said Mon-El, as he held up a 6-pack of beer.

* * *

The previous night at Kara's place was great. Oliver and Alex both noticed and acknowledged the looks Kara and Mon-El were trading one another. He spoke a surprisingly a lot with Alex, and it crossed his mind that Sara would probably like her. He didn't know whether she would romantically involve herself with Sara, but if Sara had the chance, she'd probably persuade her. Oliver was in the training room, waiting for Mon-El to arrive at any second. Kara wouldn't be training with them today, she was busy at CatCo. It astonished Oliver how remarkably similar E1 Kara and her were. They both had the same job, the same apartment number and similar tendencies. It made him wonder if the Oliver Queens on other Earths were like him at all.

He used a bit of his spare time before the session to familiarise himself with the current affairs of National City. Of course, there were grumblings about alien immigration policies, just like on Earth-1, except the word 'alien' was literal here. There was also another vigilante in National City, Guardian. Out of curiosity, he asked Winn for any footage of Guardian, taking note of Winn's defensive reaction. Nonetheless, Oliver looked at the footage, and the guy was clearly an amateur. He was athletic, but he relied on his equipment too much and had a very basic knowledge of martial arts. Good enough to beat street thugs, but he'd be in serious trouble against an experienced adversary. Oliver put two and two together, realising that this Guardian was probably the other person that didn't want help from Kara. He'd worry about that later, because he was focused on Mon-El for now.

"Mon-El" exclaimed Oliver as Mon-El entered, "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah. Woke up with a slight headache, though" replied Mon-El.

"Well, it's about to get worse. Heads up!" shouted Oliver as he quickly nocked an arrow and fired it at Mon-El. Mon-El caught it just as the tip was pressing against his chest, "I see you've actually listened to what I said. That arrow would've bounced off your chest, but you chose to catch it anyway."

"I didn't know whether it was Nth metal or not. Didn't want to risk it" explained Mon-El.

"Good. That's the mind-set you should carry forward for while we train. You should never be 100% certain that things will play out the way you think they will. Always be prepared for possibility of things going the other way."

"So, what next?" asked Mon-El, drawing out a sigh from Oliver.

"I'm sorry for suggesting we do the lead so soon. We can just train like this for now."

"Actually, I'm fine with it."

"Really?"

"Yeah, well, I know I apologised already, but I should actually apologise again. I didn't trust you, which was understandable, but I also didn't respect you, and that was wrong of me. I saw the footage of what you did against the White Martians. That's pretty impressive for a human. I'll do whatever you need me to do from now on." Oliver nodded, acknowledging Mon-El's words. He reached into his back pocket, taking out the remote controlling the lead dispensers and tossing it to Mon-El.

"You choose the setting. I will push you, but we'll go with whatever you feel comfortable with."

Mon-El eyed the remote. He was tempted to put it on the lowest setting possible, but he decided to maybe just go one step further. He upped the notch to the 2nd lowest setting and took one last deep breath in before pressing the button. Once again, he started to cough a bit and his eyes became a little teary. However, it was very mild compared to what Oliver did when they were fighting. He must have cranked it up to the maximum setting. He took several more deep breaths in, acclimating to the new environment without his powers.

"You alright?" asked Oliver.

"Yeah. Let's do this!" said Mon-El, clearly pumped up.

"Whoa, slow down a bit" said Oliver, drawing a look of confusion from Mon-El as he put his bow down and picked up a large bowl of water that was behind him. He placed it on the floor in front of Mon-El, "Sit down."

"Now what?" asked Mon-El, as he sat down cross-legged.

"Hit it."

* * *

Kara eagerly ran towards the door to the training room. She hadn't been able to join Mon-El and Oliver for training, but a gap in her schedule allowed to her to just pop by. She was hoping to catch the end of the session. Unluckily, she caught them just as the training ended, being met with the sight of Mon-El and Oliver both in a sweat. Mon-El seemed a little more tired, as he held his hands above his hand.

"Hey guys!" she said cheerfully, "How'd it go?"

"Oliver had me slapping a water bowl for an hour, but after that, it was pretty good" replied Mon-El.

"Oh, that's great to hear"

"He still needs a lot of work, but luckily, he's a fast learner" said Oliver.

"Ok, cool. What are you guys doing now?" asked Kara.

"My shift at Al's bar starts soon, so I'm going to clean up and head there now" replied Mon-El, "I'll catch up with you guys later" he said, smiling at Kara before heading for the exit.

"And you?" asked Kara to Oliver.

"Well, I'm not used to having much time on my hands."

"Hey, I could give you that tour of National City I promised you? I need to head back to CatCo for a bit, but we can do it after. Grab some lunch too?" suggested Kara.

"Sure. I'll come with you to CatCo now, if you don't mind?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Just give me five minutes to clean up."

"You sure you don't want ten? You know, the extra five to brood?" joked Kara. Oliver acknowledged her joke with a half-smile before exiting.

* * *

Kara paced back and forth outside Oliver's room in the DEO. She was really excited to show Oliver National City, but she was also a bit nervous. She wanted to make a good impression. She knew Star City wasn't exactly the happiest place, so perhaps it wouldn't take much to impress Oliver. She heard the door unlock and she rushed over to it.

"So I was thinking we could…" She stopped halfway through her sentence, losing her ability to speak as she saw Oliver's back.

"Yeah?" he said, turning around. He looked at her confusedly. She put both of her hands to her mouth as the look of shock on her face intensified. Oliver, realising that he was shirtless, quickly grabbed the shirt on the bed and whipped it around his arms.

"No, wait" she said, rushing towards him and stopping him from buttoning the shirt up. She examined the scars littering his body, not knowing what to say "Oliver, I…"

"Kara, it's okay" he said, taking a step back and buttoning up his shirt.

"Oliver, your scars… they're…"

"Kara, you're the one who told me that hardship makes us stronger."

"This goes beyond hardship Oliver. Nobody should ever have to endure that."

"I'm here now. That's all that matters. Now, you have a city to show me, if I'm not mistaken?"

"Uhh, yeah, of course. Let's go" replied Kara, still clearly shaken up by what she saw.

* * *

"So, this is CatCo" said Kara, walking out of the elevator with Oliver. He scanned the area, noting fire exits, stairs and other possible escapes. Unfortunately, he couldn't turn that part of himself off. It was instinct for him. He had told Kara that they should forget that interaction occurred and just carry on like before. He could see how much it affected her, and he didn't want it to make things awkward between them.

"You're supposed to be out there getting me a story, Danvers. Not showing your little squeeze around" remarked Snapper Carr as he walked past Kara and Oliver. She just ignored him and continued walking. He followed Kara to the main office of J. Olsen and walked in after her.

"James" she said, getting his attention.

"Kara. Didn't you just leave, like a few minutes ago?" he asked as he stood up from his desk. Oliver noticed the physique of the man before him. He was definitely too good in shape for an editor of a media conglomerate.

"Yeah, I did, but I just came to show Oliver around. He's the friend that I was telling you about. From Earth-1." Oliver noticed James' slightly conceited reaction before changing to a friendly smile.

"Ah, so you must know Barry Allen?" asked James as he shook Oliver's hand.

"Of course, Barry is a very good friend of mine. Oliver Queen."

"James Olsen. Well, it's nice to meet you Oliver."

"Likewise."

"Anyway, we'll be on our way. See you later James" said Kara, before exiting the office with Oliver. He followed her to her desk where she picked up a few files that she needed for one of her stories. She didn't need to show him the rest of the building, so they headed towards the elevator once again. It was just the two of them in the elevator, so Oliver decided to ask her something that crossed his mind as soon as he met James.

"So, James knows your secret identity?" asked Oliver.

"Yeah, he's a close friend." Oliver nodded before speaking up again about a completely different topic.

"That Guardian guy who's been running around National City, that's the other guy you were talking about who didn't want training?"

"Yeah."

"Do you know him personally? Or did you offer your help as Supergirl?" asked Oliver. Kara looked at him for a second, before glancing back at the floor level of the elevator. They had time, so she took a deep breath before replying.

"James is the Guardian"

"What?" asked Oliver. He was initially a little shocked, but it didn't come as too much of a surprise. His mind clicked it together as he realised James was a very similar size to the man in the Guardian suit, and that James knew Kara's secret identity.

"Yeah. Big surprise huh?"

"Not entirely."

The elevator door pinged and they exited the building onto the streets of National City. Oliver had already realised what a lovely place National City was, and he was actually excited to explore the place.

"Hey, can we get Chinese for lunch?" asked Kara.

"Yeah, sure" replied Oliver.

"Ok, good. I'm craving for potstickers so bad right now" she said, laughing.

"Potstickers?" said Oliver, the mentioning of the word by Kara triggering his memories of his time with his Kara.

"Yeah, potstickers. Is there something wrong with them?" asked Kara.

"No, no, it's just… Earth-1 Kara loved potstickers too" replied Oliver with a smile.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't…"

"Kara, you don't have to apologise" replied Oliver. She nervously smiled back at him, with Oliver sensing the dampening of the mood at the mention of Earth-1 Kara, "The city awaits" said Oliver, smiling at her as they began their tour of National City.


	6. Chapter 6

Another day passed in National City on Earth-38. Oliver and Mon-El had trained a couple of more times and Oliver could say he was honestly pleased with Mon-El's progress. He was definitely learning quickly. Alex had become quite nice to Oliver, while Winn was fascinated with Oliver's archery capabilities. They were both good company. He actually hadn't seen Kara since the tour. She seemed really busy at CatCo, and also had to pull double duty by being Supergirl in the day. The night moon glowed brightly as Oliver stood on the balcony of the DEO, overlooking National City.

The tranquillity of the city was something he noticed for sure. Star City was beautiful once upon a time, but now, there was always a sense of dread that clouded the city. People in Star City always had a feeling that something bad was inevitably going to happen, sooner or later. National City was different. The people were optimistic and friendly. Nobody seemed to have a chip on their shoulder besides anti-alien activists. Kara's presence very much contributed to the buoyancy of the people and the city. It was something with her and Barry that he always envied. Their ability to inspire hope. Oliver wasn't sure people would ever look to the Green Arrow like how people looked to Supergirl or the Flash. He noticed the red and blue blur slowly gliding through the sky towards the DEO.

"Hey" said Kara, as she landed next to him on the balcony.

"Hey" replied Oliver, "You heading out there again?"

"Yeah." Oliver studied her face. She seemed a bit tired. As Supergirl, she probably had all the energy in the world, and perhaps her fatigue was more mental than physical.

"Actually, why don't you take the night off?"

"What?"

"I'll go out there and handle anything that happens."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I've kind of been itching a little to get out there. You look tired. Even Supergirl needs a break sometimes."

"Thank you so much Oliver."

"No problem" replied Oliver. She smiled before bursting up into the air and flying into the direction of her apartment. He was being truthful. He did come to Earth-38 to take a break, but being the Green Arrow was something that was fundamental to his existence. The itch to get out there needed to be scratched, as he turned around and headed for his room.

* * *

 _"Green Arrow, can you hear me?"_ Agent Vasquez' voice blared over Oliver's earpiece as he stood atop a rooftop.

"Yep."

 _"There's a black market alien weapons deal going on in an abandoned warehouse. Sending location now."_ Oliver pulled out the GPS device from his pocket. He was obviously a little unfamiliar with National City, and the GPS was helping him get around. A red dot quickly appeared on the digital map. The place wasn't too far from him.

"I'm on my way."

_"Our satellites show that Guardian is heading there too. Maybe you want to sit this one out? Let him handle it?"_

"Not a chance" replied Oliver as he jumped on to the next rooftop. He had to try get there before James made a stuff up of the situation. If he didn't, then at least he'd finally get a face to face meeting with the Guardian.

In less than two minutes, he was on an adjacent rooftop to the warehouse. He had a decent view of it, with the height of the building angling him nicely to look through the windows. He spotted a van, behind a tall man in a suit. In front of him was an Asian woman, holding an large envelope. They weren't thugs, they were professionals. He was snapped out of his concentration by the growling of a motorbike engine below him. He looked down, spotting Guardian drive right up to the warehouse and enter. Oliver cursed under his breath. This probably wasn't going to end well. It took no more than a few seconds for Oliver to hear the sounds of gunshots.

He shot a grappling arrow to above the windows. He braced for impact while zipping over, as he rammed through the glass landing right in front of two men dressed in suits.

"Who the hell are you?" asked one, before each attacked Oliver. Oliver effortlessly avoided and blocked all of their blows. These guys were skilled, but they still weren't a match for Oliver. He kicked one man in the groin causing him to fall over in pain before turning his attention to the lone one. He heard the sound of an energy weapon powering up, spotting the tall man shooting a sonic wave at James, causing him to fly across the warehouse. Oliver quickly threw a three-strike combo which ended with the last man unconscious on the floor in front of him.

The sound of another engine roaring echoed in the warehouse, muffling James' screams as he continued to be pelted with sonic blasts while the arms dealer stood over him. He wasn't going to last much longer. Oliver turned around, seeing how the van was speeding off. It was almost out of the warehouse, and he had to choose between the weapons or James' life. He quickly nocked an flashbang arrow, aiming it at the floor next to the man and shooting it. It knocked the man several meters away from James, before Oliver ran up to him and threw a quick punch to incapacitate him. He turned back to his right and scowled at James, who was slowly getting back to his feet without even acknowledging Oliver.

"A thank you would be nice!" said Oliver angrily.

"I was going to handle it" replied James, unable to admit defeat.

"The hell you were James!", Oliver noticed James' eyes flare up in the gap in his helmet at the mention of his name, "You almost got killed! I had to save your ass and now there's a bunch of alien weaponry loose in the city! Let me help you James. I can train you to better."

"Sorry Oliver, but I really don't need any help. Especially not from a Robin Hood wannabe like you" said James. Oliver chose to speak with his actions rather than his words. Oliver looked at him dead in the eye, before throwing a palm strike at James' throat. James lost his breath and started choking, dropping to one knee before he felt a knee ram into his helmet, knocking him to the floor. He was completely out of it, and barely registering Oliver's words as he walked away.

"One day, you're going to get yourself killed."

* * *

The ordeal with James had pissed Oliver off more than he'd care to admit. Not only was he being reckless and irresponsible, but he was being selfish. He wasn't thinking what would happen to Kara, Winn or any of his other friends if he died out there. Oliver recognised those consequences the second he started his crusade, and always put steps in place to ensure that he would make it back home to his family. Oliver was back at the DEO, having just taken a shower. Besides the arms deal, there wasn't much else for Oliver to do out there. The only other thing of note that he did was putting a beating on a xenophobic bastard that was harassing a female alien. Oliver got to him before it escalated. Other than that, there was nothing. National City was a really safe city, or maybe it was just a quiet night.

He sat down on his bed, taking out the picture of Earth-1 Kara and stared at it. Every night, before he used to go to sleep, her face would be the last thing on his mind. Ever since he was on Earth-38, and around Kara, that changed. He put the picture down and laid back against his bed. He closed his eyes, and for the first time in years, his mind was a peaceful blankness as he drifted off to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

The following day wasn't too exciting. Oliver trained with Mon-El, but other than that, nothing. He used the spare time to try and meditate, something that he hadn't done in years. Tatsu didn't only teach him meditation for memory recollection, but other methods just for relaxation and peace of mind. He still remembered them, he just never had time for to use them.

"Hey, the food is-Wooaahh sorry" said Winn as he stumbled into Oliver's room, "You're meditating, don't want to be disturbed, got it."

"It's ok. I'm done" replied Oliver, as he stood up and put his shoes on before following Winn out. They headed towards the cafeteria of the DEO, where Winn had ordered Big Belly Burger for the two of them. Sitting at the same table, they sat in silence for a minute as they enjoyed their food. Oliver liked Winn and enjoyed hanging around him. He was like Felicity, except without the relationship drama.

"So, you ran into the Guardian last night?" asked Winn.

"Yep."

"What happened?"

"I started by saving his life, ended with kneeing him in the head" replied Oliver bluntly. He took another bite of his burger while studying Winn's body language and anxiousness, "Come on Winn, you know who he is."

"What? Oh, no, no, no, I mean no, how would I know anyway?" replied Winn, trying to brush off Oliver's accusation. Oliver started at Winn blankly, knowing that he was trying too hard, "Ok, fine. Yes, I know it's James."

"You need to talk him out of… this."

"Why? He's helping the city."

"No he's not. He's being reckless. If you don't talk him out of it, at least try get him to take up my offer. Winn, if he continues like this, one day, he's going to die out there. I'd hate to see what that would do to you, or Kara, or anyone else that's close to him. Please talk to him, and do it soon."

* * *

"Hey, Oliver. I've been looking for you" said Kara, as she ran up beside Oliver as he walked through the halls of the DEO.

"Hey. Is something wrong?" asked Oliver.

"No, no, I just wanted to invite you to game night tonight" she said cheerfully.

"Game night?"

"Yeah, it's a thing we do. Alex, Winn, J'onn, James, Mon-El at my place. We just play board games, card games, you know the usual. It's a lot of fun."

"Oh, I don't want to intrude" replied Oliver, nervously twitching his fingers beside him.

"Come on Oliver, you're not intruding. We'd all love to have you there. Except James, maybe. Winn told me about that."

"Sorry" replied Oliver, feeling a little guilty.

"Oh no, it's ok. Sometimes, James really does need a kick in the ass to be convinced. He might not make it tonight anyway. Come on Oliver, please, please, please" she said, while looking at him with puppy dog eyes which Oliver simply could never resist.

"Alright. I'll be there" he said, smiling.

"Thanks. See you tonight" she said, before skipping away from him.

* * *

Oliver knocked on Kara's door nervously. He wasn't scared of having fun, he was more scared of being the one to ruin the fun. He hadn't done something like this in a long time. He wondered if he could still just let go for a night and have some fun. He brought along his bottle of Russian vodka, hoping that it perhaps would help him loosen up if he was being too stiff. He remembered the moment of shock when he first saw Kara's apartment number. 4A. The same as the Kara on his Earth use to have. Fortunately, Kara's apartment was much different from the one on Earth-1. It was amazing, an apartment that felt like a home and probably had The Loft beaten in the coziness department.

He greeted Kara when she opened the door for him. Winn, Alex, J'onn and Mon-El had already arrived. Oliver sat between Mon-El and Winn on the long couch, while Kara and Alex sat next to each other on the floor and J'onn sat on the chair next to them. He noticed the bottle of alien vodka on the table along with a single shot glass.

"Alright, so what do we do first?" asked Kara, as she brought out several board games and a few card games, laying them out on the table.

"I say Vane" replied Winn.

"Vane?" said Oliver, surprised by the name of the game. A vane is a plastic fletching on an arrow. Ironic. He picked up the box containing the deck, turning it over to read the instructions on the back, while Winn explained it to him.

"Yeah, so you play a card of the same colour or number. You have power cards too, and the first person that has no cards left is the winner."

"So UNO?"

"Huh?"

"Oh, we have this game on my Earth. It's called UNO."

"Alright, so let's play then" said Winn enthusiastically.

"The last person with cards has to take a shot of this" said Mon-El, holding up the bottle of alien vodka.

* * *

45 minutes passed. Winn lost all three rounds so far, and he was clearly not enjoying the shots. Kara gave Alex an apologetic look before playing a 'Draw Five', a look which was then given to Winn by Alex as she played another 'Draw Five'. Winn's body language turned to one of fear, as he nervously looked around before turning to Oliver before playing his card.

"Please don't put an arrow in me for this" pleaded Winn, before playing another 'Draw Five', drawing laughs from everybody. Oliver whipped his head towards Winn who flinched, and stared at Oliver who was giving him his trademark scowl.

"I'm not going to put an arrow in you" said Oliver, whose scowl turned into a smile as he said his next words, "I'll do something even worse."

He placed his card on the pile… 'Reverse'. The laughter in the room became even louder from Kara and Alex, who now were on the floor, holding their stomachs.

"Oh no…" muttered Kara in between her laughter.

"Looks like you're going to have draw fifteen, Winn" said J'onn.

"Can I just take the shot now?" asked Winn, slumping his head and recognising there was no coming back from this.

"Of course!" said Mon-El, as he poured it out and handed it to Winn, who grimaced at the glass before downing it.

"I hate this game. Can we please change it?" asked Winn, cringing at the taste of the vodka. Clearly, he was not a heavy drinker.

"Alright… Alright…" muttered Kara, still catching her breath from all the laughter, "A board game, shall we?"

"Please" mumbled Winn, running his hands through his head.

* * *

Two hours later, and the night had been one of extraordinary fun. The food had come, and it was so delicious that Kara ordered more. Oliver had enjoyed himself a surprising amount. Winn luckily didn't have to take any more shots, but the strength of the alien alcohol had taken a massive toll on him. Alex and Kara were leaning on each other for support as they laughed at Oliver's retelling of how he and Tommy filled Malcolm's pool with beer. Mon-El and Winn were cackling too, while J'onn giggled to himself a bit. Oliver pondered while they all caught their breaths from laughing so hard. He rarely ever told this story to people at all, only to those closest to him. He'd been on Earth-38 for only a few days, but he had already felt like he could share the story with them. Thea was right. Hanging around Kara, and being in a place like National City was bringing out the best in him.

"Oh man. I did pull some stuff on Daxam, but none of it was that legendary" said Mon-El, "Hey, why did you bring your vodka?" asked Mon-El as the laughter died down.

"It's Russian right?" asked Alex.

"Yeah, a friend gave it to me" explained Oliver as he poured into the shot glasses that Kara had brought to the table, "He told me that I'd know when it was the right time to drink it."

"What makes now so special?" asked Kara. Oliver pondered for a second before giving an honestly truthful answer.

"I don't know" he replied, "It just feels right."

"What shall we drink to?" asked Kara.

"What do you normally drink to on your Earth, Oliver?" asked J'onn.

"Prochnost… strength."

They all downed their drinks. Alex cringed slightly as she drank, while Kara's face was a juxtaposition of disgust and approval. Mon-El seemed to enjoy it.

"Wow, that is surprisingly strong for Earth alcohol" remarked Kara.

"Can I have some more?" asked Winn, so drunk that he'd completely lost his sense of taste, "It tastes waaayy better than the alien vodka."

"I don't think you should have any more to drink, Winn" said Mon-El.

"Well, in that case, I'm going home" said Winn childishly as he stood up from the couch. He stumbled towards the door, but Mon-El quickly sprung up and caught him before he completely lost his balance.

"Not in the condition you're in" said Mon-El.

"Oh come on man, I'm good, you know me. Best driver out of everybody here" replied Winn, slurring on his words before passing out and falling onto Mon-El.

"Ok!" Mon-El caught Winn and thrusted him up onto his shoulders, "I'm going to make sure he gets home safe."

"Thanks for coming Mon-El, I really appreciate it" said Kara, as she got up and hugged him before he greeted everyone else and exited.

"Well, I guess I should get going too" said J'onn as he stood up.

"I also got an early day tomorrow as well" said Alex, standing up as well.

"You guys are all leaving now?" asked Kara, disappointed.

"Well, it was tremendous fun, but I think I'm done for the night" said J'onn.

"Well, whose going to help me finish all this food?" asked Kara, pointing to the two packets of food in front of her.

"You have Oliver" said Alex, much to the shock of both Oliver and Kara, "Oliver, you don't have anywhere else to be, right?"

"Uhh… not… really" replied Oliver.

"Alright then, you two enjoy those potstickers and hopefully we'll do this again soon" said Alex, hugging her sister before leaving with J'onn. Just like that, it was Oliver and Kara alone in the room. They awkwardly sat on the floor in front of eachother, nervously chuckling and gesturing to the food packets in front of them. Although they had called each other friends multiple times, there was still a barrier between them. They really didn't know that much about each other. What they had also somewhat realised was that they were very different from each other. Kara was a symbol of hope, a powerful woman who inspired others to rise up. Oliver on the other hand, was a symbol of darkness.

"So… did you enjoy game night?" asked Kara, breaking the silence.

"Yeah. It was great" replied Oliver.

"Well, glad to hear you liked it" replied Kara, as the awkward silence continued for several more seconds. She placed the potstickers on the table as her guilt overwhelmed her and she addressed the elephant in the room, "I'm sorry, Oliver."

"For what?"

"For bringing you here to Earth-38. It was wrong of me to ask for you to come" she replied apologetically.

"Why would you think that?"

"Because you told me that I remind you of her, so me bringing you to my Earth and showing you my whole life..."

"Kara…" Oliver tried to interrupt her, but she continued to ramble as she got up and started to pace back and forth.

"…it probably brings back bad memories for you and I'm so sorry for…"

"Kara!" She only stopped when Oliver had gotten up and placed his hands on her shoulders, staring into her eyes "I'm fine. I am glad that you invited me."

"Really?"

"Of course" he said. before he sat back down on the floor while she sat on the couch, replicating how he sat with E1 Kara over 4 years ago at her apartment. He recognised the parallel immediately, "I can't remember the last time I had as much fun as I did tonight."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"It is nice seeing you like this" remarked Kara.

"Like what?"

"You know… Not all dark, and brooding. Is this what the real Oliver Queen is like?"

"If you asked me that a week ago, I'm not sure I could've given you an answer."

"What do you mean?"

"Over the past ten years… A lot has happened to me. And I've done things. All of that darkness… It consumes you… It scrapes away little pieces of your soul… pieces of who you are…and I wasn't sure just how much of Oliver Queen was left. That was until I arrived here on Earth-38. Over the past few days, being here, spending time with your friends, and being here with you has in a way, reminded me who I am. Or, at least who I used to be."

"I knew you'd had a hard life, but when I saw your scars, I… I never realised how much you'd been through. I can see how that island affected you, changed you."

"How?" asked Oliver, curiously.

"I recognised it from the moment I met you. The look of someone, who's… carrying the weight of a place to which they no longer belong. I understand that feeling."

"Krypton?"

"Yeah. My first couple of years on Earth were… horrible. I'd sometimes cry myself to sleep at night, wanting to go home to Krypton. To my home. I just felt so…"

"Detached… Distant from the new reality you were experiencing."

"Yeah…" Their eyes met again as they shared warm smiles. Perhaps they had more in common than either of them thought, "You know, what helped me was talking to someone else about it. Maybe you should talk about it to somebody." Oliver replied with a shake of the head.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Kara… If people knew what happened to me there… If they knew the things that I did… They wouldn't look at me the same… They'd see me differently."

"Well, try me" she replied, drawing a look of confusion from him, "You said people wouldn't look at you the same. Oliver, nothing will ever change the way I look at you." Oliver couldn't help but smile a bit at her. She truly was Supergirl. If anybody else had asked him this, he'd have shut them down, but not Kara. She was bringing out his vulnerabilities, but not in a way that made him feel uncomfortable. If there was anyone who would still believe in him after they knew what happened, it would be her,

"Ok. What do you want to know?" asked Oliver.

"How about your first year on the island?"

"Alright…" said Oliver, before he started to unravel the entire first year on Lian Yu. He told her everything, from his father, to Wintergreen torturing him, to meeting Slade and Shado for the first time, right up until he killed Fyers. She sat listening tentatively the whole time, and Oliver felt more and more comforted by her presence. She even shed a tear when Oliver told her about his hallucinations of his father. She related the most with that. She remembered how she'd often have dreams of her parents, and how she'd wake up and sob when she realised they were gone.

"Were the other four years any easier?" asked Kara, receiving a solemn shake of the head from Oliver, "How did you survive all of that?"

"There were times where I wanted to die, but there was always something I wanted more. Not just to honour my father's dying wish, but to make it home to my family, and those that I loved."

"Your Kara?" she asked, as Oliver replied with a nod this time, "Do you mind telling me about her?"

"There's not much to say. She was like you in a lot of ways. She was a reporter, she loved potstickers, and most importantly, she cared for other people. It was more than that, it was… She genuinely wanted everybody in the world to feel loved. She was always willing to make sacrifices to ensure the happiness of others… Just like you. And just like you too, she was willing to lay down her life to save others… and one day she did, for Thea."

Kara was at a loss for words. She had never expected Oliver to open up this much to her. She glanced at the time on the wall clock, realising that they had been talking for nearly three hours. Oliver recognised her action, and glanced at his wrist watch too, confirming the time to himself.

"I guess I should head back now" said Oliver.

"Yeah, it is getting quite late. You'll be fine out there right?" asked Kara, before quickly answering her own question, "Yeah, never mind. I feel sorry for the poor soul that's going to try rob the Green Arrow tonight" she said, laughing alongside Oliver as she walked with him to her apartment door. She let him out, and he turned to face her in her doorway before walking out.

"Thank you Oliver, for sharing. I know it wasn't easy for you to speak about everything" said Kara appreciatively.

"I'm the one who should be thanking you Kara. I didn't think this night could get any better, but it did, because of you." She knew Oliver wasn't a hugger, but she couldn't resist in the moment, as she gently embraced him. Oliver couldn't help but return the hug. The last time he had felt a hug this heart-warming was the last time he hugged his mother. He savoured every moment of it. She wasn't the Kara he had known for most of his life, but she may have been even better. Just as they loosened from one another, she planted a kiss on his cheek, pleasantly surprising him.

"Goodnight Oliver" she said sweetly with her radiant smile.

"Goodnight" he replied with a smile of his own, before he turned to walk away.


	8. Chapter 8

_"Oliver."_

"Hi" speeding on the motorcycle the DEO had provided him, Oliver replied to Kara's disapproving voice as it blared out on his ear-piece.

 _"Where are you?"_ asked Kara.

"Just tending to some Green Arrow business."

_"You promised you would be here. Alex is bringing her… boyfriend to meet us and you said you would be here."_

"Yeah, I know. I promise, I'll be there."

_"You better, or else I'm going to kick your ass myself!"_

Oliver couldn't help but grin a little as she hung up her phone. He had promised to be at Al's Bar for Alex, but he also gave Kara the night off again as he took to the streets of National City as the Green Arrow. He was currently chasing a black Mercedes-AMG. A report of a gunshot and a car explosion had come up on DEO surveillance, and Oliver got a look at the perpetrator just before he sped off in the car. Clearly a professional hitman.

Oliver was struggling to keep up with the Mercedes as it sped through the city, with the minimal night-time traffic allowing the driver to have plenty of space to put his foot down on the pedal. After continuing to chase it for another minute, they found themselves on a long stretch of road with no intersecting streets. Oliver looked ahead and recognising a right bend coming up on the road ahead. For the first time in the chase, there was only one direction that it could go. As it drove ahead, Oliver took a right turn into a narrow alleyway, driving full throttle through it onto a road on the other side. As soon he was out of the alleyway, he took a sharp left turn.

Speeding ahead until he found himself on the perpendicular road, he stopped in the middle of street as he spotted the black Mercedes racing towards him. Quickly hopping off his bike, he swiftly nocked a flashbang arrow and fired it at the bonnet of the car. Oliver hastily jumped out of the way as the car continued to hurtle towards him. He felt it graze his foot as he jumped out of the way. Immediately upon landing, Oliver rolled back up onto one knee and nocked an explosive arrow, firing it at the rear of the car. On impact, the explosion lifted the back of the car into the air, flipping it over.

Oliver cursed under his breath as he watched the car roll over multiple times on the street, eventually coming to a stop when it was turned upside down. He ran towards it, hoping that the driver was still alive. Any hope of that was lost when the car suddenly burst into flames. With no screams coming from inside the vehicle, Oliver could only assume the driver was dead before the flames engulfed him. With nothing more than he could do, Oliver moved to walk back to the bike, but something caught his eye… Next to the car, a large piece of paper on fire.

Oliver hastily jogged over to it, hoping that it could provide a clue before it was completely burnt out. Half of it had already been burnt, and Oliver waved it in the air to put out the flame as he picked it up. It was an envelope, but it was empty. Oliver glanced back inside the car, spotting another piece of paper burning. He could barely make out what was on it before it completely turned to ash in seconds. That paper must have been what was inside.

Oliver looked back at the envelope in his hand. One side was blank. Turning it over, he spotted only one word written on it. A surname, the person it must have been addressed to.

**_Lacroix…_ **

* * *

Just under fifteen minutes later, Oliver had already cleaned up and was just about to enter Al's Bar. He couldn't believe how fast the days on Earth-38 were going. He only had three more days left. He attended another game night, which was just as fun as the first night. Mon-El's training was going excellently, and although Kara was busy, he cherished whatever time they spent together. He and Mon-El began to develop an unlikely friendship, and Oliver definitely enjoyed spending time with and training him.

The only real problem that he had encountered and was persisting was James. He was still refusing any help, and he was past the point of being stubborn. He was more childish at this stage. He'd found out that Winn was James' tech guy, but didn't bother to say anything. If anything did happen to James, at least Oliver wouldn't be at fault for not trying to have helped him.

He entered after giving the passcode to the person at the door. He immediately spotted the table where Winn, James and J'onn were sitting. Thank goodness for Oliver, Alex hadn't arrived yet. He looked to the bar, seeing Kara and Mon-El talking to each other. Mon-El recognised him, and waved as Kara did too when she saw him. He returned the waves with a smile, as he headed to the table and sat next to Winn.

"Oliver! Just in time" said J'onn, as Oliver joined them on the table.

"Sorry, I got stuck in traffic" replied Oliver blankly.

"Oh yeah, sure, _traffic_ " said Winn sarcastically, joking as he obviously knew that Oliver was busy as the Green Arrow.

Oliver and James shot each other a simple nod, as they set aside their differences for tonight because it wasn't about them. It was about Alex. As he sat at the table, Oliver began to pay attention to the news report on Lillian Luthor's trial. He heard how Lena had called the cops on her own mother, and he admired it in some way. He knew of his mother's involvement in The Undertaking for months, but he was reluctant to even question her about it, nonetheless expose her publically for it.

"Another round is on its way" said Kara as she returned to the table and next to Oliver, "You okay, J'onn?" she asked.

"Yeah, yeah, it's just… the first time I've been in this bar since, uh… M'gann left" replied J'onn somberly.

"Hey, I am, I am really excited to meet Alex's new mystery man" said Winn trying to lighten the atmosphere of the table.

"Hey, do we know what, um, what he does for a living? Alex's guy" asked James.

"Cop" replied Kara

"Yeah, no way Alex Danvers dates someone who doesn't own a firearm" joked Winn. Oliver noticed Alex approaching the table with… Maggie? Her police friend?

"Hey you guys!" said Alex nervously, "Hey, um… You all remember Maggie, right?"

"Yeah. Good to see you again" said James, as everything became clear. Oliver realised that Alex coming out meant that she for sure would be in Sara's line of sight now. Perhaps on another Earth, they would have been a thing.

"Alex! I… I didn't know. Did you know?" asked Winn to J'onn.

"Yes, I knew, I'm psychic" replied J'onn.

"How come you never said anything before?" asked Alex.

"It's not for me to say. Good for you, Alex."

"Drinks up!" said Mon-El, as he arrived at the table with a tray of drinks, "Here we go, bubbly club soda for the lady. Thank you. Oh, hey, hi. What's up?" he said, noticing Alex standing next to him.

"Um, well, I just wanted to let you know that Maggie and I are dating" replied Alex.

"Oh, that was the thing. Okay, okay, is that like a problem here on Earth or…"

"Well, on Earth, you know, not everybody supports ladies loving ladies."

"Oh, on Daxam it's the more the merrier" joked Mon-El, "Drinks for you guys?"

"Hey, do you play pool?" asked Maggie to Winn.

"Yeah" replied Winn insecurely.

"No, you don't" quipped James.

"It is geometry with sticks, folks. Pool is easy. Let's go do it" said Winn, as they all rose from the table.

"Alex, my money's on your girl" joked J'onn.

"Don't worry Winn, if you screw up, I'll take over" said Oliver, before walking up next to Kara, "I take it she doesn't know James is the Guardian, right? Or that I'm the Green Arrow?" he asked.

"No. Lucky her" replied Kara, as they turned to face the TV, where the news broadcaster was reporting that Lena Luthor will testify against Lillian in court, "Oh, what an awful thing to have to do."

"From what I've heard, the Luthors aren't exactly the best bunch of people" replied Oliver, remembering when he briefly heard of Superman's many battles with Lex Luthor.

"Yeah, but she's not like them. She knows Lillian is evil, she's doing the right thing, even though she still loves her mother. What she did was brave. I should go see her. She could probably use a friend."

Just as Kara finished her sentence, a white pool ball flew past Oliver and Kara, barely missing them as it collided with several glasses on the counter.

"Sorry!" said Winn, sheepishly.

"I think you should go see her" said Oliver, smiling as he turned back to Kara before walking over to Winn, who gladly handed him the pool stick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lacroix...


	9. Chapter 9

The next day, Oliver walked into Al's Bar feeling slightly dejected. After video evidence surfaced of Lena Luthor being the one to steal kryptonite for Metallo, she was promptly arrested and sent to prison. He hadn't had a chance to see Kara and talk to her about it since she was busy at CatCo. He walked over to the counter, spotting Mon-El wiping the counter with a cloth. Mon-El smiled as he noticed Oliver walking towards him.

"Oliver! What's up?" he asked cheerfully.

"Nothing much" replied Oliver, as he sat at the counter.

"The usual?" asked Mon-El, drawing out a nod of the head from Oliver, "Euphorian cidar coming up!" said Mon-El, as he opened the bottle and slid it over to Oliver. "This whole situation sucks right? What's happening with Lena?"

"Yeah. You should probably go speak to Kara about it" replied Oliver.

"I'll see if I can. We're still training later right?"

"I'm not sure. I'm thinking of giving you the day off" replied Oliver.

"Why? Afraid that the student has surpassed the master?" joked Mon-El.

"You wish" replied Oliver, chuckling to himself as he took a sip of his drink.

"Come on Oliver, we both know that one of these days… I'm going to beat you at something."

"Keyword: Something. Not specifically fighting."

"Point taken. I bet I can beat you at darts" said Mon-El confidently, gesturing to the dart board in the bar.

"No ways" replied Oliver, scoffing.

"Only one way to find out… unless you're scared of losing" said Mon-El coaxingly. Oliver grinned to himself, deciding that it would be good fun to entertain Mon-El, but not without a catch.

"Ok, Mon-El. I'll play" said Oliver, as he took one last sip of his drink and stood up, "But only… if there's stakes."

"Oh, for sure" replied Mon-El excitedly, "If I win, you have to fight me one on one, no lead."

"Alright, but if you lose… you have to tell Kara how you really feel about her" replied Oliver, smirking as he watched Mon-El's facial expression change from one of excitement to bewilderment.

"You really had to go there, didn't you?" asked Mon-El.

"Oh yeah."

"You know what? It's alright. I'm not afraid of losing" said Mon-El, as he walked out around the counter, holding the three darts in his hand. He walked to about 5 feet in front of the board, but Oliver pulled him back further, making him stand 8 feet away.

"Whoever gets the most points wins the round. Best of three" said Mon-El, as he began to ready himself to launch the darts. Mon-El's first dart landed just outside of the bullseye area, scoring 12 points. His second dart landed close to the bullseye once again, scoring 20 points. His third one landed on the outer bull, scoring 25 points. Mon-El pumped his fist in the air before walking to the board and collecting the three darts, "I'd like to see you beat that" he said cockily, as he handed the three darts to Oliver.

Oliver grinned once again, relaxing his stance before throwing the first dart… directly at the centre of the bullseye. The aliens sitting by the table next to them gasped as Oliver threw the remaining two darts within a couple of more seconds, with all of them landing on the bullseye. The aliens around applauded and laughed as Mon-El stood motionless in disbelief.

"Ready to admit defeat?" asked Oliver as he collected the darts and handed them back to Mon-El.

"Not even close" replied Mon-El, as he took the darts in his hand. He looked to the alien table next to them to look at one of his friends, Hector. Mon-El discreetly nodded at him, who acknowledged his request with a subtle nod too. Mon-El threw the first dart, and Oliver watched as it slightly swung in the air onto the bullseye. Mon-El threw the second one, which once again swung in the air ever so slightly.

"Wait, wait, what's going on?" asked Oliver.

"Nothing" replied Mon-El innocently as the third dart landed on the bullseye once again, causing him to turn his head slightly towards Oliver and grin mischievously.

"Alright, which one of you telekinetics is helping him?" said Oliver, as he turned to face the alien table next to him. They all mumbled in denial and shook their shoulders.

"Hey man, that was all me. I was still warming up the first round, you know?" said Mon-El teasingly.

"You're still going to lose, even if you cheat" said Oliver playfully, as he readied himself to throw his dart. Oliver threw with the exact same motion as the first time, but he watched as the dart slightly swayed off course, on to the outer bullseye instead of the very center. He threw the next two, with the very same thing happening. He turned to face Mon-El with a look of chagrin, but Mon-El shrugged it off and walked over to the board to collect the darts, "Alright, I see you're playing this" said Oliver, smirking as Mon-El walked back to him.

Oliver stood patiently, waiting for Mon-El to throw his darts. Oliver let him throw the first one, which landed on the bullseye once again with some help from his telekinetic friends. Oliver let the second one launch as well, as it landed next to the other dart. Now, he was going to make his move. Just as the third dart left Mon-El's hands, Oliver withdrew a flechette from his back pocket and flung at it the dart, knocking it out of the air. Within another split-second, he pulled out his knife and opened it before flinging it at the board. It spun towards the bullseye, and it split the dart on the very center of the bullseye in half as it collided with it and stuck to the center of the board.

He looked to Mon-El with a smile, who was completely perplexed by what had occurred. Just as Oliver was about to speak up, his phone buzzed. He pulled it out and saw the text from Winn – _"Lena Luthor broken out of prison by Metallo. Get back to the DEO ASAP."_ Oliver put his phone back in his pocket, and turned back to Mon-El before speaking up.

"I have to get back to the DEO. Shall we call it a draw?" asked Oliver.

"Yeah… a draw" replied Mon-El, as he and Oliver both began laughing before they shook hands and Oliver left the bar.

* * *

Back at the DEO, Oliver stood with everyone in the Med Bay, watching as Alex treated the burn wound on James' shoulder. James had been at the prison when Metallo tried to break Lena out and had clearly lost.

"Metallo's strong, but something's off" said James, "His Kryptonite isn't right. I think it's hurting him."

"Well, you're lucky you didn't take a direct hit" said Alex.

"Very lucky" added Kara.

"I had my shield… I love that shield" replied James, drawing a look of anger from her, "I know what I'm doing, Kara."

"Even if Metallo is weakening, though, he still is a fanatic follower of Lillian Luthor. We have to find out where he's taken Lena, and help her" said Kara.

"What is it going to take for you to realize that Lena is a criminal?" asked James, "She's not the victim. She got the Kryptonite. He broke her out of prison."

"Lena's not a member of Cadmus! She's not!" said Kara adamantly. Unfortunately, nobody else in the room shared her sentiment. She look at everyone, J'onn, Alex, Winn, none of them thought that Lena Luthor was innocent, "She stopped the gang with alien weapons. She saved Alex's life when Corben tried to kill her."

"She shot Corben and then her crazy mom turned Corben into Metallo. So, that could have been the plan the entire time" replied James.

"We have to start treating Lena Luthor like a hostile. The evidence is too overwhelming" added J'onn.

"Winn? If you watch that video, I know you'll find something" said Kara.

"I did, Kara. It's clean."

"Then find something to prove her innocent" she replied adamantly.

"Everything we've seen so far says the exact opposite" said J'onn solemnly.

"Well, she's my friend. And I believe in her" said Kara, before storming out of the room.

J'onn and James were right. Almost everything so far pointed towards Lena Luthor being guilty. Despite all of the evidence, a part of Oliver believed in Kara. If Lena really was a member of Cadmus, then she's gone to extreme lengths to supposedly prove her innocence before all of a sudden taking a turn and basically revealing herself. As CEO of L-Corp, she could be doing so much more to help Cadmus from the shadows rather than reveal herself at this moment. However, Oliver had also seen this story play out before with Diggle and Ted Gaynor. Gaynor's name was on The List, but Diggle still believed he was innocent. Diggle's blind trust almost cost Carly her life, and he'd hate to see a similar situation play out with Kara.

* * *

"Oliver!" he heard James' voice behind him. He was tempted to ignore it, but he chose not to, turning around to face James. Oliver was surprised to see an apologetic look on his face, "Hey, I just want to apologise for calling you a Robin Hood wannabe" he said sincerely.

Oliver nodded, acknowledging his apology before James continued talking, "After what happened at the warehouse and with Metallo, I've realised that you were right. I can't keep going like this. If it's possible, I'd like to take up that offer on training." Oliver appreciated James' apology and willingness to co-operate. He was obviously a very proud man, and it took him a lot to accept that he wasn't good enough… yet.

"Alright. We can start as soon as you're ready."

"Thank you" he said, extending a hand which Oliver gladly shook.

* * *

A couple of hours passed, and there was still no news on Lena's whereabouts. Oliver could see how helpless Kara felt as she stood on the balcony of the DEO by herself. For someone that had all the powers in the world, it wasn't very often that she came across a situation where she was unable to do anything. Oliver paced back and forth behind Winn, hoping that at any second they'd find something.

"The backseat driving isn't helping, Oliver" said Winn, clearly having noticed Oliver's presence behind him.

"Sorry, force of habit" replied Oliver, "I just don't want it to be true, for Kara's sake."

"None of do, man, but unfortunately, just like J'onn said, all the evidence says otherwise" said Winn, turning his chair to face Oliver.

"Something still seems off to me. I'm going to go check on Kara, call us if you find anything" said Oliver, as he walked over to Kara, "Are you okay?" he asked as he came up next to her.

"Not really. It's bad enough that all this is happening, but it hurts more that none of my friends trust me on this one."

"I'm your friend, and I trust you."

"Really?"

"I'd be lying if I was saying that the evidence isn't convincing, but you're right. There is something strange about the way this has all played out."

"Well, at least someone around here believes me."

"They all believe in you, Kara. None of them want this to be true either, but it might be. You have to prepare yourself for the possibility that things aren't the way they seem."

"This isn't a possibility for me, Oliver. Lena is innocent, I know it."

"I hope you're right."

* * *

Oliver splashed cold water on his face in his bathroom. It had been a day since the rescue of Lena Luthor by Kara and J'onn. 24 hours later, Oliver felt like the ordeal was affecting him in some ways. He always told others to prepare themselves for the worst, but in those moments, he couldn't fathom the thought of Kara perishing in the Kryptonite explosion. The feeling in those few seconds after the explosion went off when the comms were silent unnerved Oliver. He always said he didn't get unnerved, but in those moments, he did. He was as relieved as ever when he heard Kara's voice over the comms.

He wiped his face with a towel before exiting his room and making his way to the main control hub of the DEO. Kara had called it a day, so he was going to be on standby in case anything happened in National City. In the few days that he was here, he had enjoyed working with the DEO. He had almost become part of the organisation, as he was longer looked at as a guest by the agents around. He was several meters away from the main hub before Mon-El suddenly materialised right in front of him… In his underwear…

"Mon-El?" he said, totally confused as to what was going on.

"Hey…Oliver" replied Mon-El as he stood awkwardly with the whole DEO laying their eyes on him. The sheepish look on his face turned to anger in an instant, "I'm going to kill him."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Green Arrow & Mon-El vs Mxyzptlk?


	10. Chapter 10

"You've just been visited by a Fifth Dimensional being" said J'onn, as he walked with Kara, Mon-El and Oliver in the DEO.

"Wait, you've seen one of these things before?" asked Kara, surprised.

"Not here on Earth" replied J'onn, "On Mars, one of them moved the Xan'Xie Mountains halfway across the planet during the Zook Uprising. Fifth Dimensional life forms possess the ability to warp our reality to their own whims. Abilities that would appear, to all intents and purposes, to be magic." Oliver grimaced, thinking back to his encounters with Baron Reiter and Damien Darhk. From what he was hearing from Kara and J'onn, Mxyzptlk's abilities were far greater than anything Damien Darhk had to offer.

"On Daxam, we had a zero tolerance policy for those creatures" added Mon-El.

"You had them on Daxam?" asked Oliver.

"Yeah. And those guys knew how to party, but they're dangerous. Very dangerous."

"Agent Schott, scan the archives for anything resembling Fifth Dimensional incursions here on Earth" ordered J'onn.

"Close Encounters of the Fifth Kind. You got it" replied Winn, "Oh, hey. J'onn. We're ready to send your message to Mars whenever you are."

"What message?" asked Kara.

"On Earth, it's customary to send messages on Valentine's Day. We had a similar custom on Mars" replied J'onn.

"It's too bad you can't call her."

"We Martians are a psychic people. All our communication was through thought. But when we had something really important to say, we would often write it down. On some planets, to write something is to truly say it."

"I'm sure M'gann will be very happy to hear from you."

"Thank you."

Oliver walked over to Winn and sat next to him, eyeing what Winn was searching on 5th Dimensional Beings. At this stage, Oliver was used to fighting beings that were stronger and more powerful than him, but against Mxyzptlk, he truly was out of his depth. He needed to find out everything he could on him.

* * *

"Where is Mxyzptlk now?" asked J'onn to Kara.

"I don't know. He snapped away. I thought he was just after me, but he almost killed those guys. He's a lot more dangerous than I thought" replied Kara.

"Agreed. Agent Schott, Oliver, have you found records of human dealings with these life forms?" asked J'onn as he and Kara walked over to Winn and Oliver.

"Uh, yes. Actually, lots" replied Winn.

"Between genies, jinns and leprechauns, humans have been documenting contact with reality-bending creatures for centuries" said Oliver.

"And how did they slay them?" interjected Mon-El, "On Daxam, we crush them."

"What? No. Absolutely not" said Kara, sternly.

"We learned the hard way that the only way to deal with them was to kill them quickly. Let me take care of him" requested Mon-El.

"No! No. We don't kill."

"I'm not going to let some imp stalk you and live."

"I can take care of myself, Mon-El. Let me handle it."

"So we're going to go non-lethal?" asked Winn, with Mon-El and Kara simultaneously replying yes and no, much to the chagrin of eachother.

"The DEO has some recovered alien artifacts in a sub-basement storeroom. Maybe one of them can send Mxyzptlk, back to the Fifth Dimension, or at least suppress his powers" suggested J'onn.

"I'll have them brought up" replied Winn, before they all walked their separate ways. As much as Oliver knew Kara didn't approve of killing, and how he himself was trying to supress that part of himself, Mon-El was right in a way. A being with absolute power like Mxyzptlk was definitely not benevolent, and the only way to stop him might be to end his life before things got ugly.

* * *

"Hey, hey, Oliver!" called out Mon-El, as he ran up behind him just as Oliver was about to enter his room.

"What's going on?" asked Oliver, seeing the look of distress on Mon-El's face.

"Nothing, I just want to talk to you about Mxyzptlk" said Mon-El. Oliver understood exactly what he meant and gestured for him to enter into Oliver's room. Mon-El immediately started talking as the door shut behind them, "I came to talk to you because I know you care for Kara, and…"

"Mon-El, I know. You want to kill the imp. I agree."

"Really?" asked Mon-El, surprised at how quickly Oliver sided with him. He thought it would take a bit more convincing than that.

"Guys like Mxyzptlk can't be reasoned with. To beat a guy like him, you have to stoop to his level. Unfortunately, you have to be willing to channel your darkness to beat him. I know I'm willing to do that. Are you?"

"For Kara, there isn't a thing in the world I wouldn't do."

"Good. Now what's the plan?"

"Winn has brought up the artifacts J'onn told him to look for. We should go check them out."

* * *

"Hey, pal. How's it going?" said Mon-El cheerfully as he walked into the DEO conference room that Winn had brought the artifacts to.

"Oh, you know. Believe it or not, I'm having a girl issue" replied Winn.

"Good timing" remarked Oliver, remembering how it was Valentine's Day.

"Hey, Mon-El, you're great with girls. They throw themselves at you left and right" said Winn.

"Yeah, not all of them."

"Aw, come on, hit me, I need a relationship pearl. Come on" requested Winn.

"Yeah, uhh, things were a lot easier on Daxam, when I objectified women and didn't care about anyone" replied Mon-El bluntly before turning to look at the artifacts.

"Okay… You, Oliver?" asked Winn.

"Just be yourself" replied Oliver politely before tapping Winn on the shoulder. He too then turned to look at all of the boxes on the table next to him, "These are the artifacts right?"

"Yeah. I know that the 'E' in DEO stands for 'Extra-Normal', but _this_ … I did not know we had stuff like this, dude" said Winn excitedly, as he opened two boxes in front of Oliver and Mon-El. One box contained an amulet, while the other had two glowing blue rocks that were shaped like kites.

"What would this do to the imp?" asked Mon-El while pointing to the amulet.

"I have almost no Earthly idea but it tested off the charts on Fifth Dimensional energy. So did those rocks. Now, the spectrometer needs to update before I can do anything else, it's going to take like six hours so… meanwhile I'm going to go be brave and go to Valentine's Day dinner, with uh, that girl."

"Good luck" said Oliver as Winn exited the room. Once Winn left, Mon-El took the amulet from the other box, and stood next to Oliver as they both examined the rocks in front of them, noting their shape.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Mon-El, drawing out a smile from Oliver.


	11. Chapter 11

"Mxyzptlk!" screamed Mon-El in the alleyway outside of Al's Bar, "Show yourself, you smug, grand-standing dandy!" Oliver was perched on nearby building with a clear view of Mon-El. He was providing overwatch. The two kite-shaped rocks had been fastened as arrowheads for Oliver. Their plan was simple. First, Mon-El would see what effect the amulet would have on Mxy. If it didn't work, or only weakened him, Oliver would provide the kill shot. Out of thin air, Mxy materialised behind Mon-El, with Oliver listening to their conversation through a mic placed near them.

"Oh, bummer sticks! It's just you" said Mxy arrogantly.

"I've come to challenge you, Mxyzptlk."

"A Daxamite duel? I never had one of those before. For Kara's hand?"

"Yes."

"To the death?"

"Yes."

"I accept."

"Good. But first…" Mon-El was interrupted by Mxy, who raised his hand to Mon-El's face, silencing him.

"Buddy… If we're going to take part in a proper duel, we're going to do it like the gentlemen that we are."

Oliver, understanding what was about to happen, quickly drew one of the blue rock arrows and aimed to shoot it, but he wasn't quick enough. In an instant, Mxy raised his hands and he and Mon-El vanished into thin air. Oliver cursed under his breath, trying to think quickly what course of action to take. He thought something like this might happen, so he placed a tracker on the amulet. He pulled out the GPS he had and inspected it. The signal of the amulet was a few blocks away at the National City Theatre. He had to get there quick before Mon-El got seriously hurt, or worse.

* * *

"What the…" cursed Mon-El, as he suddenly found himself dressed in seemingly ancient clothing in a theatre room. This definitely screwed with the plan.

"How do you like the duds, Monsieur Hamilton?" said Mxy, drawing Mon-El's attention to him at the higher seating section of the theatre, "I'm a Burr man, myself. He gets a bad rap, but let's be honest… he was the one who knew his way around a pistol" he remarked, as he teleported to behind Mon-El, "Pistols at dawn! So revolutionary. I love it" said Mxy, as he pulled out two old guns and handed one to Mon-El.

"So if I shoot you with this, you'll die?" asked Mon-El, inspecting the pistol in his hands.

"That is generally how these things work, yes. But don't throw away your shot, because you'll only get one."

"I only need one" said Mon-El, as he aimed a shot right at Mxy's chest. Mxy slumped in pain as the gun fired, but he slowly rose, laughing before sending Mon-El flying across the room with a backhand.

"Did you really think I would hand you a loaded gun that could actually kill me? You Daxamites really are thick, aren't you?" Mxy took several steps towards Mon-El, but was stopped in his tracks when Mon-El brought out the amulet. It shone brightly over Mxy, who started snapping his fingers to no avail.

"Oh, no" said Mxy.

"Oh, yes" replied Mon-El, before sending Mxy flying through the air with a vicious uppercut. Mxy wiped the blood on his lip before standing up to Mon-El, his air of confidence still as visible as ever.

"You may have cut me off from the Fifth Dimension, Daxamite, but I still know a thing or two about the old fisticuffs" he said while he and Mon-El circled each other.

"Here's the thing. I have this friend named Oliver, and I've been dying to put to practice the things he's been teaching me." Just as he finished his sentence, Mxy threw a left hook at him. Mon-El saw it from a mile away, ducking under it effortlessly and returning with a right hook of his own. He tried to throw more punches, but Mxy evaded those ones and replied with a punch straight on Mon-El's jaw. Mon-El faked another punch before throwing a kick at Mxy's leg, knocking him off-balance. Taking advantage of Mxy's disorientation, he lunged at him, tackling him off the stage.

"How could you think she'd ever want to be with someone like you?" asked Mon-El, as he pushed Mxy away from him.

"Why, you think she's gonna be with you? Face it, what do you've got to offer her? I can give her anything. There's no contest between you and me, and you know it. I'm a god and you're a loser!"

"You're a dead man" said Mon-El smugly.

"What makes you think that?" replied Mxy arrogantly, before feeling a horrid piercing pain into his right shoulder. He looked at the blue-tipped arrow sticking out of his shoulder before he fell forward onto Mon-El, who grabbed him and turned him around. He watched as the man in green leather on the upper platform shot a grappling arrow to the roof and glided down to right in front of him.

"Ah, Oliver Queen of Terra Prime. I must say, I wasn't expec…" His words were cut short by a punch from Oliver, who quickly took a step back and nocked another blue arrow.

"Leave. Return to your dimension, or this next arrow goes through your heart!" said Oliver sternly.

"Bold of you to assume that that arrow will kill me" said Mxy.

"Do it, now!" screamed Oliver.

"Come on Mr Queen. Do it. You know you don't need to, but you want to" taunted Mxy, trying his best to exploit Oliver's constant inner struggle with his darkness. Oliver pretended to not be affected by Mxy's words, and readied himself to release the bowstring. Just as he was about to let go, a hole in the ceiling ripped, and Kara landed in front of him, "Sweetie! You've come to save me" remarked Mxy. Kara ignored him as he spoke to Oliver.

"You don't have to do this, Oliver. You don't have to channel your darkness to end this" she pleaded.

"Kara, what you doing!?" said Mon-El angrily.

"Kara, move!" screamed Oliver, but she didn't budge.

"I believe in you, Oliver. Even if you don't believe in yourself." Oliver couldn't fire the arrow at her, but he couldn't withdraw it either and make Mxy feel as if he was no longer being threatened. He stood with the arrow still drawn, as Kara stared into his eyes pleadingly.

"Anyways, enough of this" said Mxy, who showcased the amulet in his hand before crushing it, giving him his powers back. In an instant, Oliver suddenly found himself hanging, strung up in a rope on stage with Mon-El. Mxy stood in front of them holding a gun in each hand.

"While a normal bullet will suffice for you…" said Mxy to Oliver, "I hear you're allergic to lead" he said to Mon-El, as lifted the pistols in both of his hands towards them.

"I'll marry you!" said Kara, as she sped to in front of Mxyzptlk.

"You will?" asked Mxy, surprised.

"You will?" said Mon-El as well.

"Yes, yes. I've thought about it. You're gifted, brilliant, and together we can do anything. Take me as your wife."

"Darling, you and I are going to be the ultimate power couple" said Mxy. Before Oliver and Mon-El could say anything, they were teleported back to the DEO and were in civilian clothes. Mon-El gave Oliver a look of despair, believing that they had failed their mission. However, Oliver had more faith in Kara. Maybe she had something up her sleeve.

* * *

Kara walked through the DEO, entering the laboratory area in an attempt to find Alex. She hadn't seen her in a while and really needed to talk to her. She was feeling horrible after having spoken to Mon-El at her apartment. It pained her that she couldn't tell him her plan, but it was necessary for it to succeed. She couldn't take the risk of Mxy finding out that she was about to dupe him.

"Alex?" she called out as she entered the laboratory.

"She's not here." Kara turned to her left to see the source of the words, spotting Oliver walking towards her. She sighed, fearing Oliver was about to tell her the same things that Mon-El did.

"If you're going to tell me that I shouldn't be doing this, or that there's another option, forget it" she said.

"I'm not here to do that. I'm here to say thank you."

"For what?"

"For stopping me from killing Mxy…" he said, looking at her with appreciation, "You know, ever since Laurel died, I've had to fight against my darkness harder than ever before. It would've taken over, if it wasn't for you. Thank you for that."

"Thanks?" replied Kara, confusedly. Just as Oliver was about to exit, she spoke up again, "Aren't you mad that I'm, you know, going to be marrying Mxy?"

"You had faith in me. It'd be wrong of me to not have faith in you" replied Oliver with a smile, before walking out of the lab.

* * *

Oliver sat on his bed in his room, still smiling over what Kara did. She out-tricked a literal god of trickery. She was just that amazing, and he couldn't have been more proud. He had encouraged Mon-El to go make amends with Kara over the ordeal, and hopefully, things were going well between them now. This was his last night on Earth-38. A part of him understood that it was time to return to Star City to resume his mayoral duties and deal with Prometheus, but he was also sad that he had to leave. He reminisced about all of the time he spent here. Between training Mon-El, to strengthening his friendship with Kara to forming new ones with Alex and Winn, he honestly believed that his time here had been the best he'd spent in a long time.

He once again pulled out his picture of Earth-1 Kara Danvers, and looked at it with a sense of acceptance. He would never stop loving her, nor would he ever forget her, but for the first time in his life, she was no longer the Kara Danvers that had a grip on his heart.


	12. Chapter 12

"Hey everybody! Uh, quick thing. Kara and I are dating. Yes, it's awesome. Yes, we are very happy, and your jealousy is appropriate. You can carry on now. Thank you."

Oliver couldn't help but chuckle as Mon-El was clearly unable to contain his excitement and proclaimed it to the entire DEO. He stood with Alex and J'onn with his two bags, ready to leave.

"We're just going to pretend like didn't happen" said Kara, as she approached them, her expression changing to one of sorrow as she noticed Oliver with his bags, "You're leaving?"

"Yeah, unfortunately, it's time for me to return to Earth-1."

"Already?" asked Winn, as he stood up from his chair and walked over to Oliver.

"Time flies when you're having fun" replied Oliver with a smile

"Well, it was very nice getting to know you Oliver. Thank you for all of your help" said Alex.

"I think I speak on behalf of all of us when I say you've made lifelong friends in all of us. If you ever need our help, do not hesitate to call us." said J'onn, as Oliver shook his hand.

"Winn" said Oliver endearingly before shaking his hand, "Just keep being yourself, buddy."

"Man, goodbye's really suck" said Mon-El as he shook Oliver's hand, "I don't know how to say thank you for everything."

"You can thank me by continuing to be who you really are. A good man."

Finally, he turned to Kara, with whom he walked with away from the others to the center of the DEO.

"So, you and Mon-El, finally" said Oliver.

"Yeah. He came to my place to talk, and… everything worked out" replied Kara cheerfully.

"Oh, ok" replied Oliver with a smile. "I'm really happy for you two."

"Thank you Oliver, for everything you've done" said Kara, appreciatively, "I called you here to train Mon-El, and you ended up having to fight White Martians and 5th Dimensional Imps."

"I'm the one that should be thanking you" said Oliver, as he stopped to turn and face Kara, "Coming here, it's… it's been amazing. And spending time with you was even better. You truly are a special person, Kara. Everyone that knows you is lucky to have you in their life."

"Well, I can honestly say that others are lucky to have you too. You're amazing, Oliver. I know you think that you're filled with darkness, but there's a lot of light inside of you too. You are a hero, and you are my friend… Oh man, goodbyes really do suck" she said laughing, trying to hold back a tear.

"Well, it's not a goodbye. It's a 'see you later'" replied Oliver.

"I know you're not much of a hugger, but…"

"Oh, come here" said Oliver, initiating the embrace as he pulled her close. They hugged each other tightly for several seconds. When they separated, she pulled out the extrapolator and pressed the button, forming the breach next to them.

Before turning to the portal, he gave her a warm smile, one which she reciprocated. She let out a deep breath as she watched him step through the breach, hoping that soon, their paths will cross once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this story comes to an end. The third story of this series will be up soon, it's going to be insane. It's going to blow this story and 'Invasion: Love of Yesterday' out of the park. Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed reading this story, and I promise you're going to love the third edition! Stay blessed folks!


End file.
